Effective factors on different attitudes of two successive generations towards marriage and fertility. case study: women in Shiraz Iran

Jalil Iranmahboob, Centre for Population Studies & Research, Iran
Sahel Taherianfard, Centre for Population Studies & Research, Iran

The main aim of this research was to find out whether there were any differences between two successive generations' attitudes towards marriage and fertility, and if so what factors determined these differences. A survey design has been carried out to uncover these changes in Shiraz city of Iran. 383 women in 20-29 and 50-59 age groups have been selected through stratified random sampling technique. After data collection and processing, through descriptive and inferential statistical analyses the findings were explained. Based on the findings, we come to the point that these two generations have different attitudes towards marriage and fertility as a whole. More specifically, attitudes towards marriage price (Mahriye), the rate of dowry, engagement ceremony, celibacy, marriage with foreigners, economic and social level of husband, relative authority in family, and desired number of children were found to be different in two generations under study. Nonetheless, there were not any different attitudes toward the traditional ceremony of suiting, luxurious wedding ceremony, marriage with relative, polygyny, parents' satisfaction in marriage, chance in finding the best person for marriage, premarital sex, place of residence after marriage, age at marriage for girls, age at marriage for boys, foundation of marriage, major goals of marriage, marriage with men from other religion, choosing husband, relationship between boys and girls before marriage, educational level of husband, desired sex, desired age of childbearing, and birth spacing. The results of regression showed that the level of exposure to the mass media, the rate of employment, the level of education have caused attitudinal changes towards marriage among two generations. In terms of fertility, more exposure to the mass media, more education, and lower level of religiosity has led to more attitudinal changes.