5. Fertility Variations in Scotland: Socio-cultural attitudes and interactions
Award Holders: Dr I Dey, Professor K Backett-Milburn, Professor P Boyle, Dr E Graham, Professor L Jamieson, Dr F Wasoff - Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews
Summary: Scotland has had a relatively low birth rate in recent years, yet little is known about the factors associated with low fertility in Scotland. This project investigated local differences in fertility in relation to both individual attitudes and interactions with others (e.g. parents, peers, neighbours). It had two main aims:
- To increase our understanding of attitudes to fertility and their relationship to fertility behaviour within Scotland.
- To investigate the influence of socio-cultural interactions on fertility attitudes and behaviour.
By linking socio-economic data on local contexts with evidence on individual attitudes and social interactions the project furthered theoretical understanding of fertility variations while generating insights relevant to policy.
Status: End of Award report released on ESRC website May 2008.
Links: ESRC website