Napaporn Havanon

Family size and the education of children in the context of rapid fertility decline

Family planning programs have caused a substantial decline in fertility in Thailand in the last 20 years. At the same time a steady increase in the educational level of children has occurred. Recent surveys were taken to gain information on family size in relation to the educational level of the children focussing on attendance of lower and upper secondary schools. Results show that males were more likely to continue to secondary schools which is in agreement with the educational desires of the parents. The strongest factors determining the educational level of children is the socioeconomic and educational status of the parents. The surveys show that as family size increases especially over 5 children the likelihood of the children staying is school drops dramatically. Parents educational level seems to be the next most important factor with a positive correlation to the childs educational level. The cost of education is the responsibility of the parents which is why family size is important; while most parents surveyed feel advanced education is necessary for the children to make a better living they may not be in an economic situation to provide it. The data shows that the number of children continuing from lower secondary school to upper secondary school is in agreement with the number expected to continue by the parents. About 33% were expected to continue and 35% actually did continue to lower secondary school from primary school; 17% were expected to go on to upper secondary school and 24% did continue.

Fertility Transition in Thailand: A Qualitative Analysis

This paper analyzes qualitative information gathered through focus group sessions with men and women who built their families before the Thai fertility decline and with a younger generation whose members are limiting family size to 2 or 3 children. The ultimate aim of the study is to generate qualitative data (perceptions opinions and attitudes) that will complement the quantitative documentation of the ongoing fertility transition in Thailand including its timing and pace. 4 major components are identified all of which interacted to result in an abrupt and rapid shift in reproductive patterns. 1) Fundamental social and economic changes under way in Thailand for some time are responsible in part for the latent demand for fertility control among the older generation and far more so for the current desire for smaller families among the younger. Participants viewed larger numbers of children as a burden with which they are either unable or unwilling to cope. The analysis points to a perceived increase of monetary costs of raising children and a decrease in some benefits. However some participants felt that more was to be gained from rearing few better educated children than from having many less educated ones. 2 The cultural setting is relatively conducive to the acceptance of deliberately regulated fertility and limitation of family size as adaptations to changing circumstances. There exists a prevailing expectation that each conjegal unit will be largely responsible for the support of their ownn children. In addition Thai women enjoy a considerable degree of autonomy and influence over birth control and family size enabling them to effectively take into account their own stake as the bearers and rearers of children. Finally Budddhism as practiced in Thailand also appears to pose no barriers to fertility control. 3) Organized efforts to provide contraception throughout the country met with immediate success largely because of the existence of a receptivity of latent demand for effective and acceptable birth control prior to the widespread availability of contraceptives. 4 The national family planning programs efforts to promote and provide effective modern contraception have facilitated the widespread use of birth control. The analysis shows that the 2 most dynamic components explaining Thailands fertility transition are the set of fundamental social changes that have been taking place and the effect of the family planning program. It is the interaction between these 2 forces both operating within a cultural setting conducive to reporoductive change that has resulted in the rapid and extensive decline of fertility. (summaries in ENG FRE SPA)

Sexual networking in provincial Thailand.

Thailand is currently experiencing a major HIV epidemic, spread primarily through heterosexual contact. Patronage of prostitutes is relatively common. In-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted in a Central Thai province with a purposive sample of 181 urban men who had had sexual relations with at least two different women during the prior year. Additional qualitative information is provided by interviews with 50 women. The most common network pattern for men was a combination of commercial and noncommercial sexual relationships. Men reported that they commonly used condoms when they engaged in sex with prostitutes, but condom use was lowest for men who were the most frequent patrons. In noncommercial, nonmarital relationships, men screen partners for risk rather than practice safe sex, and condom use is generally low. Persons involved in noncommercial sexual networks are largely unaware that their partner may link them to a larger network of sexual contacts and associated risks of HIV infection. Men who have both commercial and noncommercial sexual partners can be found throughout the social strata. A program that focuses only on the closed commercial sex network will address only partially the real risk situations.

Exploring the normative basis for age at marriage in Thailand: an example from focus group research.

The normative basis of marriage timing in Thailand was explored using focus group sessions as a way of obtaining qualitative information about attitudes and beliefs concerning the appropriate age at 1st marriage for men and women. A focus group session consists of a group discussion in which a small number of participants (usually 6-9) under the guidance of a moderator talk about topics of importance to the particular research study. The informal group situation is intended to encourage participants to elaborate on behavior and opinions to a greater extent than might be forthcoming from more formalized individual interview situations. Given the main objective of exploring the recent transformation of reproductive behavior in Thailand the project was designed to facilitate a comparison between the pre and post fertility decline generations. The pretransition generation was defined as married persons who had experienced most or all of their childbearing prior to the rapid changes in reproductive behavior that took place over the last decade and who had at least 5 living children. The post transition generation was defined as young married persons in their 20s for women and in their 20s or early 30s for men who wanted to have 2 or 3 children. Separate sessions were held for older men older women younger men and younger women. Complete sets of 4 sessions were held in 1 village each in the Central North and Northeastern Regions and in both a Buddhist and a Moslem village in the South. All but an older generation mens session have been held among construction workers in Bangkok all of whom migrated from rural areas. The findings draw on material from all 23 sessions. The discussions indicated that there was a reasonably clear consensus that a woman should marry in his mid 20s with 25 being most commonly mentioned. in general the recommended ages at marriage resemble the distribution of acutal ages at which men and women marry in Thailand and the mean of the recommended ages is fairly close to the actual average age at 1st marriage. During all the focus group sessions only once was the issue of brideprice payments raised and there seemed to be no acknowledged relationship between brideprice payments and appropriate age at marriage for men or women. There also was no link made between the onset of menarche and age at marriage for women and no concern expressed about a delay of marriage increasing the danger of a woman having her virginity compromised. There likewise was no advocacy that a woman should marry early in order to maximize her reproductive potential. The findings suggest that the link between age at marriage and family size is largely unintentional and that decisions as to when to marry are not viewed as a way to deliberately control family size.

The Impact of Family Size on Wealth Accumulation in Rural Thailand

Findings from a study of the effect of family size on household wealth in the northern province of Lamphun and central Suphanburi Thailand are presented. Fertility decline was rapid and early in Lamphun and later and slower in Suphanburi. 612 couples who completed childbearing were surveyed with equal numbers in each province and in small and large families. The household economists perspective that there is simultaneous determination of fertility and standard of living is rejected. Preferences on the number of children are considered as emerging during the family building process. Wealth is measured as the amount of consumer goods and savings the household possesses the quality of the dwelling unit and the amount of agricultural land belonging to a household from inheritance. At the time of the survey households both large and small had a large number of household goods and electrical appliances which reflected an increase from a period 5 years after marriage. Improvements in the size of the house (number of stories) and distance between them the building materials (walls and roof) and basic facilities (toilet running water and electricity) were also noted for both family sizes. A composite score was constructed by adding the 2 indices and is verified by community leaders views on the households relative economic status. Economic background was determined at 3 periods: 1) when growing up (couples parents) 2) during the 1st 5 years after marriage and 3) at the time of the survey. The economic background of households is provided. Multiple classification analysis was used to control for confounding influences (family size and occupational status) in the multivariate analysis. Other explanatory variables were educational attainment and year of marriage. Predictor variables explained 30% of the variation in consumer goods/savings 24% in the housing quality index and 32% of total wealth. Occupational status had the strongest impact followed by family size. There is an inverse relationship of all 3 indices with family size before and after adjustment for other variables i.e. the more children the lower the mean value of each index. The adjusted mean score of the total wealth index shows that a landless couple with 1-2 children would be better off than large landholding families with 6 or more children. Perception of family size effects reveal that 80% of couples with small families believed an economic deterioration would occur with additional children. Focus group results showed that most agreed that couples with small families enjoyed a higher standard of living which reaffirmed the study results. Results also show that small families contributed to improvements in childrens education and wealth.