Power in families,communication, and fertility decision-making

Decisions on family size and fertility regulation are made within the household, and yet little research has focused on the effects of power relationships within families on demographic decisions. To clarify the situation, the paper presents an original framework, linking bases of power between husbands and wives, resulting communication processes, and decision-making outcomes. The framework is applied to decision-making regarding contraceptive use or abortion, which can be a passive decision, a unilateral decision made openly or surreptitiously by one partner, or a joint decision between husband and wife, depending upon the particular power relationship pre-dominating in the family: coercive, reward, legitimate, referent, expert, or informational power. To illustrate the utility and viability of this framework, available data from fertility surveys and anthropological studies conducted in Latin America are reviewed and analyzed, as well as policy implications for the design of family planning delivery programs.The author wishes to thank Kurt W. Back, Mead T. Cain, Michele G. Shedlin, Joanne Spicehandler, and J. Mayone Stycos for their comments on an earlier version of this paper, and Luis de la Macorra for his permission to cite data collected by PROFAM-PIACT de México. Requests for reprints should be directed to Paula E. Hollerbach, The Population Council, Center for Policy Studies, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, New York 10017.