More children or not? fertility of married women in Croatia.

Jakov Gelo, University of Zagreb
Marin Strmota, University of Zagreb

This paper explores demographic, economic, psychological and socio-psychological factors which directly or indirectly influence the reproduction behaviour of married women aged from 20 to 35 years old who already have one or more children. The purpose of the research is to identify the main problems of women, who are raising children in current Croatian economic and social circumstances, and also to identify factors crucial for respondents' decision on giving or not giving birth to another child. Field survey was conducted by the State Institute for the Protection of the Family, Maternity and Youth in the period 2002 - 2003 in Croatia. On the basis of the survey question, we divided respondents into groups of women who wish to have more children and those who do not. Out of 1220 respondents, 60,6 percent plan to have more children, and the rest, 39,4 percent do not. The survey has identified significant demographic, economic, social, psychological and socio-psychological variables, directly or indirectly influencing the decision of women regarding the number of children they have or plan to have. Conducting quantitative analysis, special attention in the survey will be given to the research of the possible influence of some family policy measures on the change of decision regarding to giving birth to another child.