Son Preference and Contraceptive Practice Among Tribal Groups in Rural South India

Abstract

This paper examines the son preference and contraceptive practice among tribal groups in rural south India. Parents' preferences for the sex of their children have constituted an important theme in population and social research over the past three decades. Data were collected from a household survey of 398 currently married women of reproductive age group (15-49) from four taluks in the Nilgiris District of rural Tamilnadu are selected with respect to the different tribal communities. Cross tabulation and logistic regression analysis was carried out for finding out relationships between the socio-economic, demographic variables on contraceptive practice. The use of contraceptive practice by tribal groups in rural areas is strongly linked to individual and household socio-economic and demographic variables. Findings shows that the expectation that a son will provide financial support in old age is strongly associated with the response that a son is important. Son preference is slightly more among the tribal women, particularly among the users of spacing method who are more among those preferring the sons. Some of the socio-economic variables like education of husband and occupation have shown negative influence on higher fertility and positive influence on contraceptive use among the tribal women. It is proposed that there is need for more comprehensive on tribes in different areas in state and in the Indian nation to explicitly bring out the son preference attitudes of tribal people, which have an impact on their fertility and family planning practices. IntroductionThe present study is an attempt to find out the reproductive behavior in relationship to their son preference and an answer to the general query -how the tribal communities differ from the general population with regard to this and their various socio-economic and demographic characteristics while inhabiting in the same ecosystem. Son preference is one of the reasons given for high fertility and low acceptance of family planning in many developing nations. Such a preference is believed to have a strong effect on the number of additional children parents have near and above the desired minimum size. Adoption or non-adoption of family planning method eventually depends on their achieved sex preference of children (Krishnamoorthy, 1974;Coombs et al

Pattern of contraceptive use, determinants and fertility intentions among tribal women in Kerala, India: a cross-sectional study

“…In neighbouring Bangladesh the contraceptive use among tribals was very high at 73% which was also much higher than among the general population of that country 23. The primary reason for low contraceptive use may be the low access to contraceptive knowledge and services as observed in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu 21 24. Other reasons could be early marriage, childbearing observed among tribal groups in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan25 which was in turn associated with low contraceptive use11 and lower education 24.…”

“…The primary reason for low contraceptive use may be the low access to contraceptive knowledge and services as observed in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu 21 24. Other reasons could be early marriage, childbearing observed among tribal groups in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan25 which was in turn associated with low contraceptive use11 and lower education 24. Other studies in central India and Nepal substantiated the role of women and husbands’ education, age of women and number of surviving boys in the use of any modern method of contraception 5 26.…”

“…Gender norms related to fertility is an important issue determining contraceptive use in the tribal community 24. Gender relations among Indian tribes have historically been more balanced and equitable; however there is an increasing trend of gender bias in tribal culture emerging due to the assimilation and modernising process 33 34.…”

Determinants of gender preference among women of Belagavi: a cross sectional study

“…5 Son preference is also one of the reasons given for high fertility rate and is believed to have a strong effect on the number of additional children above the desired minimum size. 6 The declining number of females in a society may lead to an increase in sexual abuse and social crimes against women, such as: rape, abduction and bride selling which will disturb the social fibre of the society and also the value systems. Also, due to female foeticide women may have to bear repeated pregnancies and forced abortions.…”

Why ethnicity and gender matters for fertility intention among married young people: a baseline evaluation from a gender transformative intervention in rural India

“…Panel data from Andhra Pradesh [ 12 ] demonstrates that young married women from the tribal groups were 10.5% more likely to give birth by the time they were 19 years old than women from other castes [ 12 ]. Some studies in India highlighted that early age at marriage, son preference, lower education, and low access to services are some of the reasons for low contraceptive use among tribals [ 13 ]. Gender norms are an important aspect of early fertility desires, which are largely overlooked in interventions, especially for marginalised sections.…”