Immigrant mothers' preferences for children's sexes: A register-based study of fertility behaviour in Norway

Parental sex preferences have been documented in many native populations, but much less evidence is available on immigrants' preferences for the sexes of their children. Using high-quality longitudinal register data from Norway, a country with a recent immigration history, we estimate hazards r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Population studies 2018-03, Vol.72 (1), p.91-107
Main Authors: Lillehagen, Mats, Lyngstad, Torkild Hovde
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Birth Rate
Child
Child sex preferences
Children
Country of origin
Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data
Emigration and Immigration
family composition
Female
Fertility
Hazards
Humans
Immigrants
Immigration
integration
Local conditions
Male
Mothers
Mothers - psychology
Mothers - statistics & numerical data
Noncitizens
Norway
Parental behavior
parental gender preferences
parental sex preferences
Parents & parenting
register data
Registries
Regression analysis
Regression models
Reproductive Behavior - statistics & numerical data
Sex
Sex Factors
Sex preferences
Sexes
Sexual behavior
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Description
Summary:Parental sex preferences have been documented in many native populations, but much less evidence is available on immigrants' preferences for the sexes of their children. Using high-quality longitudinal register data from Norway, a country with a recent immigration history, we estimate hazards regression models of third birth risks by the sex composition of the first two children. A central question in the extant literature is whether the sex preferences of immigrant mothers match those observed in their country of origin, or if cultural adaption to local conditions is more important. Our analyses indicate that the sex preferences of immigrants generally match those previously documented for their native population, especially in the case of son preferences. The pattern of sex preferences is unmodified by the mother's exposure to the host society. In sum, our evidence generally supports theories emphasizing cultural persistence in preferences, rather than theories of adaption or immigrant selectivity.
ISSN:0032-4728
1477-4747
DOI:10.1080/00324728.2017.1421254