NEWLYWEDS FAMILY-FORMATION PREFERENCES

Newlyweds' preferences for the sex of their prospective children were explored via forced-choice surveys. The results indicate that the idea l family size has changed over the past 20 years from 3-4 children to 2-3 children. The desire to have children of both sexes has not change d. However, in families with an unequal gender ratio, a majority of bo ys was preferred over a majority of girls. Boys were preferred as firs t-born children among those with a preference, although the no prefere nce option was chosen by nearly three quarters of the sample. There wa s great variance in the amount of agreement within couples on the idea l family formation, and there was more disagreement than agreement, in dicating a potential source of conflict for newlyweds.