The study was concerned with the definition of the value and cost of children to Australian, Greek and Italian parents. The conceptual framework of values, costs and alternatives in having children was applied to an Australian and Southern European sample, as a cultural extension of our knowledge of the values and costs of children, and as a new line of inquiry into trends which have occurred in Australia towards the acceptance of the smaller family. A total of 717 husbands and wives were individually interviewed in metropolitan Sydney between May, 1977 and January, 1978. All parents were once-married and with one or more children. The socio-demographic data collected in the interview indicated the realities which surrounded the young couples in bearing and rearing children. Moreover, the background information highlighted the distinctivenes s of the Southern
European immigrant relative to the host population, especially in indices
of education and the level of occupation. In contrast to Australians ,
immigrants were less likely to be trained above a basic schooling, and
were employed more in unskilled occupations (Chapter 2). In Chapters 3 and 4, differences were identified in the value and
cost of children across socio-ethnic groups, the sex of the parent , the
sex of the child and the stage of family formation. Australian respondents
emphasised the general pleasure of children , their emotional benefits ,
and aspects of personal improvement in becoming a parent . Southern
Europeans mentioned more frequently the happiness in having children ,
and advantages to the marriage and the family unit . All ethnic groups
emphasised the financial , emotional and childrearing costs in being a
parent , and other analyses provided a ranking of these costs (Chapter 5).
Overall , males and females expressed similar benefits and costs in having children. Chapter 4 investigated changes in the value and cost
of children over the family building process, especially in the salience
of sex preference and family completion advantages with higher order
births.
An interesting development in Australia has been the increased
participation of married women in the work-force. In Chapter 6, the
working role for married women was recognised as an extension of the
role in being a mother, as women have accepted the financial necessity
to work. Interpretations of family size expectations indicated that
Australian and Italian parents wanted two or three children, but Greeks
were more likely to expect a two-child family. Australian Catholics
desired larger families than non-Catholic Australians, and Catholic
Italians (Chapter 7). Measures of attitudes to and practice of contraception
indicated the acceptance of birth control and especially 'the
pill' among Australian and Southern European women. Some Australians
had accepted the benefits of sterilisation. The majority of parents held positive evaluations of the
influence of children upon their personality and life-style (Chapter 8).
The period after childrearing was dominated by perceptions of travel
and work, especially the working role for women. In the final chapter,
the general conclusions of the survey were related to the results of
other studies of the value and cost of children, and to an interpretation
of factors which might be influencing the acceptance of the smaller
family
