Population growth, contraception, and the high school student in the rural Punjab.

To determine attitudes toward contraception population growth and the role of women a questionnaire was administered to 317 high school students in Indias rural Punjab during May 1969. Average age for the sample group was 15 and it included 157 girls from 21 home villages and 160 boys from 22 in the Ludhiana District. 66% of the male population within the district were illiterate while 35% of the respondents ahd illiterate fathers. Maternal illiteracy was 73% for the sample 92% for the overall district (ages 35-59). 83% of the respondents felt their village population to be increasing 89% knew Indias population was growing. 13% of the sample cited concern that growth exacerbates the food shortage. 88% of the lower caste girls compared to 75% of the upper Jat caste girls were aware of local population growth. The majority of the respondents favored small family size while boys were more likely to see the advantages of large family. 17% of the sample (22% of the boys 13% of the girls) noted the availability of extra labor; 6% (11% of the boys 1% of the girls) mentioned the military defense advantages of a large family. Girls with less exposure tended to more progressive on population issues than those with more nontraditional backgrounds. 88% of 40 girls living more than 12 miles outside of Ludhiana City compared to 71% of 118 girls living nearer cited child educational benefits in a small family. This tendency was reversed among the boys with 3% of 78 from townsize villages compared to 20% of 79 from smaller villages noting the labor advantages of a large family. The total sample desired a mean of 2.71 children (girls 2.39 boys 3.04). 6.7% of the girls wanted 0 children compared to none of the boys. Both sexes wanted more sons than daughters but the larger number of children desired by males reflects their desire for more sons and a lower estimation of females. Girls from more traditional backgrounds displayed more contraceptive knowledge than the other females. 55% of those with fathers in nonmodern jobs compared to 31% of those whose fathers were teachers businessmen or clerks and 72% of 39 girls living more than 12 miles from Ludhiana City compared to 42% of 116 living nearer reported contraceptive knowledge. This difference may be due to a modesty inculcated by the social milieu of girls from less traditional backgrounds. 83% of the girls and 34% of the boys knew of family planning from some form of government-sponsored propaganda. These educated teenagers display a high awareness of population growth and a low reproductive goal in comparison to the older generation. Development of a more positive evaluation of female capabilities than is traditional in rural Punjab migh reduce the strong male desire for sons and ideal family size would diminish accordingly.