Fertility Preference and Intention Among About to Married Men and Women in Tehran; Focusing on Intention for Single Child and Its determinants

This mix study aims to examine the average preferred family size (fertility preference) and intention and their gap among newly married men and women in Tehran. The distributional characteristics of preference and intension for one child and their correlates are also assessed. It was conducted in 2012 and comprised of three phases. A representative sample of the survey (second phase) was examined. Nearly, 871 about to marry men and women, attended to premarital compulsory courses in 8 health centers in different geographical areas of Tehran were assessed using self-administered anonymous questionnaire. Data were cleaned and analyzed using SPSS –V18.
Mean age of the sample was 26.9 (SD=4.3). Mean ideal number of children reported by men was 1.70 (SD=0.97) and by women was 1.72 (SD=0.715). Mean number of intended children among men was 1.64(SD=1.06) and among women was 1.60(SD=0.7). Multivariate analysis showed predictors of intention for single child and its differences by gender. This study have important implications for population policies in Iran.