Evidence of son preference and its influence of family building process in the Philippines
Date
2001-10
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Abstract
The key question that will be addressed in the study is: "Is there a male child preference in the Philippines?" When male children are valued more by parents, there is son preference. If this phenomenon is present; parents will alter their fertility behavior as they build their families. The family building process depends on the preferences that parents exhibit in wanting more children. Son preference assumes that the presence or absence of a surviving son is a criterion for the fertility decision of the couple.
This study will try to establish the presence or non-existence of son preference in the Philippines by focusing on the setting of the demand for children and testing the effect of the sex of the youngest or index child and the gender of the previous surviving children to the decision of a couple to have an extra child in their families. Other biological and socio-economic variables were also included.
The results show that there is equal preference for sons and· daughters in the Philippines and the decision to have children is strongly affected by biological and cultural reasons and environmental influences. Parents in the country tend to hold similar attitudes about the relative importance and value their of daughters and sons in their households. However, Filipino still want bigger families.
Although there is no son preference in the Philippines, still, many experience gender discrimination. Therefore, relevant gender-sensitive policies need to be adopted and applied.
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Keywords
Son preferences, Family planning, Fertility behavior, Reproductive health, Family, Family building