De werkende vrouw en haar patroon van gezinsopbouw

Samenvatting

The birth rate of 17.2 for 1971 is an all-time low for the Netherlands. It is important not only to examine the number of births, but also birth intervals. There is a tendency to have the children in the 1st half or the 1st third of the childbearing age. Factors which regulate birth intervals are of either a physiological or sociological nature. Various patterns which can be differentiated in regard to birth intervals are: (1) the traditional pattern, (2) the hedonistic pattern, and (3) the reaction and the rational pattern. To date, little research has been done on working f's. What is known is that the working f generally has fewer children than her nonworking counterpart. However, this does not necessarily mean that individual f's have fewer children if they work. Working f's fit into the same family patterns as nonworking f's. One important difference is that working f's are more conscientious about consistently using modern contraceptive methods. Since the present information on this issue is severely limited, more research is needed. There appears to be a trend towards a more traditional family pattern. 1 figure. P. Tiersma.