Patrilineality, Son Preference, and Sex Selection in South Korea and Vietnam

Boer, Andrea den; Hudson, Valerie M.

doi:10.1111/padr.12041

Cited by 54 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Women's limited autonomy in decision-making should also be reflected on in regard to a woman's position in the family and in Vietnamese society more generally. Although women are advancing in areas such as labor force participation (World Bank, 2017), there is evidence of son preference in an increasing male-to-female sex ratio at birth in Vietnam, affected by increasing access to inexpensive ultrasound technology (den Boer & Hudson, 2017; Guilmoto, 2012). Women in our study spoke openly about finding out the sex of their baby via ultrasound, although prenatal sex identification is illegal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Health Literacy in the Maternal Health Context in Vietnam

McKinn¹,

Linh²,

Foster³

et al. 2019

HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice

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Background: Previous health literacy research has often focused on individual functional health literacy, ignoring the cultural contexts through which many people experience health care. Objective: We aimed to explore the nature of maternal health literacy among ethnic minority women in a low-resource setting in Vietnam. Methods: Using a qualitative approach, we conducted focus groups with 42 pregnant women, mothers, and grandmothers of children younger than age 5 years from the Thai and Hmong ethnic groups. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants and thematic analysis was performed. Key Results: The findings of our thematic analysis aligned well with the concept of distributed health literacy. We found that ethnic minority women drew upon family and social networks of health literacy mediators to share knowledge and understanding, assess and evaluate information, communicate with health professionals, and support decision-making. Family members were also involved in making health decisions that had the potential to negatively affect women and children's health. Conclusions: Family members are an important source of information for ethnic minority women, and they influence decision-making. Relatives and husbands of pregnant women could be included in maternal health education programs to potentially strengthen the health literacy of the whole community. The distributed health literacy concept can be used to strengthen health promotion messages and to reduce the risk of negative health outcomes. [ HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice . 2019;3(1):e31–e42.] Plain Language Summary: Distributed health literacy refers to how health literacy skills and practices are distributed through social networks. This concept applies well to the maternal health context in Vietnam. Older women are trusted sources of information, and family influences decision-making during pregnancy. Women's limited autonomy increases the importance of family involvement. Distributed health literacy could be used to strengthen health promotion messages.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Health Literacy in the Maternal Health Context in Vietnam

McKinn¹,

Linh²,

Foster³

et al. 2019

HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice

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“…Moreover, the motivation for son preference differs from culture to culture, although the primary driver of son preference is rooted in the organization of society along patrilineal lines. The rigidity and strength of patrilineal practices in many countries affects the preference for sons over daughters (Boer -Hudson 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of son preference on fertility: A parity progression analysis

Hoq

2019

CJSSP

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This article assesses the strength of son preference in Bangladesh, as reflected in fertility behavior. Although the fertility rate for Bangladesh declined from 6.3 children per woman of reproductive age in the year 1975 to 2.3 children in 2014, empirical results show that son preference has still a strong influence on fertility behavior. Keeping cognizant of this fact, this study examines levels and differentials in fertility and also investigates the effects of son preference on fertility in Bangladesh. In addition, the study inspects the underlying factors responsible for son preference. Levels of fertility indicate that the proportion of higher education of a couple is inversely related to fertility, whereas rural and Muslim couples in Bangladesh have more children. The bivariate analysis shows that almost all the independent variables selected for this study have a significant association with parity progression. Findings from multivariate analyses suggest that women with at least one son are less likely to continue childbearing than women without sons at parities 2-3. At most or all parities, continued childbearing is negatively associated with education, access to mass media, and family wealth. A significant source of motivation for parity progression in couples is the desire to have a son.

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“…The family system (patrilocality, exclusion of daughters from inheritance), economic benefits (old age support and social protection offered by male children) and traditional attitudes (ancestor worship by sons, low reputation of sonless couples) represent strong incentives for parents to have at least a son even among urban middle-class families that do not rely anymore on land and may not be deeply religious. The role of gender norms that are skewed in favor of boys is almost as important as the actual economic benefits that parents might draw from their sons, since married daughters may also be relied upon for support [15]. But the projected turnaround of the SRB trends announces the gradual erosion of son preference across the country in the coming decades.…”

Section: Social Demographic and Cultural Determinants Of High Srb In Vietnammentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This cycle has already been observed in several countries of East Asia or Eastern Europe such as South Korea, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and China where the SRB started rising more than a decade earlier than in Vietnam [2]. The stabilization of the SRB and its potential turnaround in the years to come might also result from the concerted action by the Vietnamese government against the spread of sex-selective practices through different campaigns and policy initiatives such as the 2006 Law on Gender Equity, the 2011-2020 Strategy on Reproductive Health, and the regulations of the health sector introduced in 2013 and 2014, even if their real effectiveness remains undetermined [15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex ratio at birth in Vietnam among six subnational regions during 1980–2050, estimation and probabilistic projection using a Bayesian hierarchical time series model with 2.9 million birth records

2021

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The sex ratio at birth (SRB, i.e., the ratio of male to female births) in Vietnam has been imbalanced since the 2000s. Previous studies have revealed a rapid increase in the SRB over the past 15 years and the presence of important variations across regions. More recent studies suggested that the nation’s SRB may have plateaued during the 2010s. Given the lack of exhaustive birth registration data in Vietnam, it is necessary to estimate and project levels and trends in the regional SRBs in Vietnam based on a reproducible statistical approach. We compiled an extensive database on regional Vietnam SRBs based on all publicly available surveys and censuses and used a Bayesian hierarchical time series mixture model to estimate and project SRB in Vietnam by region from 1980 to 2050. The Bayesian model incorporates the uncertainties from the observations and year-by-year natural fluctuation. It includes a binary parameter to detect the existence of sex ratio transitions among Vietnamese regions. Furthermore, we model the SRB imbalance using a trapezoid function to capture the increase, stagnation, and decrease of the sex ratio transition by Vietnamese regions. The model results show that four out of six Vietnamese regions, namely, Northern Midlands and Mountain Areas, Northern Central and Central Coastal Areas, Red River Delta, and South East, have existing sex imbalances at birth. The rise in SRB in the Red River Delta was the fastest, as it took only 12 years and was more pronounced, with the SRB reaching the local maximum of 1.146 with a 95% credible interval (1.129, 1.163) in 2013. The model projections suggest that the current decade will record a sustained decline in sex imbalances at birth, and the SRB should be back to the national SRB baseline level of 1.06 in all regions by the mid-2030s.

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Patrilineality, Son Preference, and Sex Selection in South Korea and Vietnam

Cited by 54 publications

References 42 publications

Distributed Health Literacy in the Maternal Health Context in Vietnam

Distributed Health Literacy in the Maternal Health Context in Vietnam

Effects of son preference on fertility: A parity progression analysis

Sex ratio at birth in Vietnam among six subnational regions during 1980–2050, estimation and probabilistic projection using a Bayesian hierarchical time series model with 2.9 million birth records

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