268938 Social Position and Family Formation: An Innovative Qualitative Study of Adult Women and Men

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 11:15 AM - 11:30 AM

Diana Romero, PhD, MA , Community Health, CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College, New York, NY
Amy Kwan, MPH , Department of Community, Society and Health, The Graduate Center, CUNY School of Public Health, New York, NY
Background: Americans continue to be concerned about childbearing among the poor and unmarried. Poverty policies include objectives aimed at reducing fertility among the poor assuming that single childbearing causes poverty. We specifically examined how educational, financial, and other life experiences/goals influence relationship and childbearing decisions among low- and higher-income adults—an area currently lacking qualitative data.

Methods: We conducted 200 in-depth interviews with women and men (ages 18-35) in NYC and northern NJ. Innovative use of several web-based tools was employed in this large, qualitative study to select recruitment sites, manage field data collection and processing (13 interviewers, 6 sites). Theoretical sampling was employed to ensure adequate representation across gender, age, racial/ethnic, income, and relationship categories. Recruitment was community-based (eg, libraries, gyms, cafés), as opposed to organization-based, to reduce bias from respondents' organizational associations.

Results: The sample was evenly distributed by gender, age, neighborhood, income, and race/ethnicity. Interview domains explored factors influencing family formation including: daily responsibilities, employment and career goals, relationship attitudes (dating, cohabitation, marriage), past and current relationships, childbearing, and what “family” means. Thematic analysis focuses on how individuals' social position (educational attainment/plans, career goals, income/finances) is related to family-formation attitudes and behaviors. This is further juxtaposed with respondents' support/opposition to same-sex marriage.

Conclusions: Innovative web-based tools helped to manage a large-scale, qualitative study in <4 months in NYC/NJ. Young adult men and women described how key factors, including career and educational goals, influence their family-formation decisions. Comparisons by personal, relationship, and life circumstances characteristics will be presented.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1) Describe the use of innovative, web-based tools (eg, Google Earth, Google Maps, DropBox, GoogleDocs, Skype) for large-scale field data collection efforts 2) Explain theoretical sampling and recruitment strategies to draw a community-based sample of men and women in a large urban center 3) Assess the relative importance of educational and employment characteristics and goals vis-à-vis life circumstances in influencing relationship and childbearing decisions among young women and men 4) Compare how young women and men of differing sociodemographic and racial/ethnic backgrounds define “family”

Keywords: Sexual Behavior, Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the project coordinator of this study and am working closely with and under the guidance of Diana Romero.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3164.0: Socio-behavioral issues and family planning