Gender roles perceptions and ideal number of children: case study of Emirati youth

Reproductive Health

Research

Tatiana Karabchuk¹  Ankita Shukla²  Latifa Mohammed Al Neyadi³ 

[1] Department of Government and Society, College of Humanities and Social Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates;National Research University Higher School of Economics (Associate Researcher), Moscow, Russia;Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates;UAEU Library, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates;

关键词: Gender roles;    Ideal number of children;    Gender equality attitudes;    Youth;    Fertility;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12978-023-01677-x

 received in 2023-04-05, accepted in 2023-08-28,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a traditional society with patriarchal values. The country has been experiencing a decline in fertility rates, bringing the total fertility rate for the national population to 3.3 children per woman, the lowest since 1970s. Existing literature indicates that having gender-egalitarian attitudes is associated with lower fertility rates. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the perceptions of gender roles among the highly educated Emirati youth and examine whether these attitudes influence their desire to have children. By doing so, we aim to gain insights into the factors contributing to the country’s declining fertility rates.MethodsThis study utilized data from a cross-sectional quantitative survey. The survey was developed and administered in February–March 2019 to a purposive sample of 300 young Emirati males and females aged 18–30 years, studying at the UAE University. Both bivariate and multivariate analysis were performed to examine the levels of youths’ perception towards gender roles and desired fertility.ResultsThe data collected from Emirati youths revealed that 50% of them supported the traditional perspective on marriage, 30% considered motherhood is the most important thing for women, and a small percentage supported economic independence of women and husband participation in household chores/child-rearing. On average Emirati youth ideally wished to have 5.4 children in their future families, with a preference for sons over daughters. Youths who favoured women’s economic independence and equal participation in household work contribution by spouses desired a lower number of children which is in line with the modernization theory and cultural evolution.ConclusionThe UAE has been facing continuous decline in fertility rates. The study indicates that ideal number of children is much higher than the current fertility rates in the country. To bridge this gap, the government could implement family policies that create an environment conducive to fulfilling the ideal desires of young Emiratis regarding family size. Moreover, present findings indicate that perceptions of equal gender roles could be a contributing factor to the declining fertility rates among the young generation. Promoting gender equality attitudes and strengthening institutional support for childbearing could become key strategy to address these issues.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1

13690_2023_1170_Article_IEq10.gif