Changing attitudes and behaviour concerning contraception and abortion in Poland
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The study on changes in attitudes towards contraception and abortion and the study on changes in attitudes towards contraception and abortion and the contraception use among generations at the procreative age in Poland is based on the data coming from two Polish Retrospective Surveys carried out in 2001 and 2006.
Poland is a country with very restricted abortion law, very few legal abortions. Additionally, available data on contraception show that its use and methods applied are still far from patterns observed in other countries of Europe. In parallel, Poles have changed considerably their procreative behaviour after 1989 – TFR dropped to the lowest-low level (1,2 in 2003) and despite some improvements fertility in Poland remains low (TFR reached 1.4 in 2009).
In the last two decades the Polish society, considered to be a traditional Catholic society, is undergoing a deep social transformation, including also changes in values and norms (social, religious, legal norms, etc.), important for attitudes and behaviour related to family. The unique data coming from two surveys makes it possible to investigate how views on abortion and contraception evolve over time and to analyse contraceptive behaviour. Descriptive and model-based analyses refer to relevant determinants usually mentioned in the literature: the education attainment, the role of social networks and the religiosity as well as some personal attributes.
The results revealed that the increasing number of people accepts contraception unconditionally. For those who declare their approval for contraception in some situation the number of children is a decisive determinant. Contraception patterns are being slowly modernised - condoms are still the most preferred means followed by contraceptive pills. The natural methods are in use mostly by couples. In addition, there is still quite remarkable the percentage of people declaring no contraception use.
Attitudes towards abortion seem to undergo some polarisation. The dominant opinion claims that it is a couple’s decision to terminate a pregnancy while the opposing group perceives abortion as strongly immoral. The role religion in people’s life also matters for attitudes towards abortion. However, a relatively strong disapproval is declared also among persons who do not regard religion as important in their life while some religious people permit abortion.
As hypothesised, Poles’ attitudes regarding family-planning and their behaviour changed considerably. Results of testing the role of the education attainment, social networks and the religiosity reveal the complexity of family-planning decisions, which strongly depend on the socio-cultural background and personal preferences. The picture seems to suggest the diminishing role of religiosity and ongoing individualisation process in terms of methods of birth control.
Article Details
References
[2] Bongaarts J., Watkins S.C., 1996, Social Interactions and Contemporary Fertility Transitions, “Population and Development Review”, No. 22, 639–682.
[3] Bühler Ch., Kohler H.-P., 2004, Der Einfluss starker Beziehungen auf die Nutzung moderner Kontrazeptiva in Kenia, “Zeitschrift für Soziologie”, No. 33(1), 5–25.
[4] Bühler Ch., Fratczak E., 2005, Learning from others and receiving support: the impact of personal networks on fertility intentions in Poland, Rostock, MPIDRWorking Paper WP-2005-017, on the web, http://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2005-017.pdf.
[5] Bühler Ch., Frątczak E., 2007, Learning from Others and Receiving Support: The Impact of Personal Networks on Fertility Intentions in Poland, “European Societies”, No. 9, 359–382.
[6] Burt R.S., 1982, Toward a Structural Theory of Action. Network Models of Social Structure, Perception, and Action, Academic Press, New York.
[7] Burt R.S., 1984, Network Items in the General Social Survey, “Social Networks”, No. 6, 293–339.
[8] Burt R.S., 1987, Social Contagion and Innovation: Cohesion versus Structural Equivalence, “American Journal of Sociology”, No. 92, 1287–1335.
[9] Cline A., on the web, http://atheism.about.com/mbiopage.htm.
[10] Coleman J.S., 1990, Foundations of Social Theory, Belknap Press, Cambridge.
[11] Council of Ministers, 2007, Sprawozdanie Rady Ministrów z wykonania w roku 2006 Ustawy z dnia 7 stycznia 1993 roku, O planowaniu rodziny, ochronie płodu ludzkiego i warunkach dopuszczalności przerywania ciąży oraz o skutkach jej stosowania [The Report of the Council of Ministers concerning the execution of the Law of January 7th, 1993 on Family Planning, Protection of Human Foetus and Conditions of Permissibility of Abortion and the Effects of its Implementation in the year 2006], Warsaw.
[12] Dębski M., Balicki J., 2007, Religia – wartości i normy, [in:] Studium porównawcze wyników dwóch Polskich Badań Retrospektywnych 2001 i 2006. Raport syntetyczny z badania empirycznego zrealizowanego w ramach projektu badawczego: Nr 2H02B 006 25, Instytut Statystyki i Demografii, SGH, Warszawa.
[13] Entwisle B., Rindfuss R.R., Guilkey D.K., Chamratrithirong A., Curran S.R., Sawangdee Y., 1996, Community and Contraceptive Choice in Rural Thailand: A Case Study of Nan Rong, “Demography”, No. 33, 1–11.
[14] Federacja na rzecz Kobiet i Planowania Rodziny, 2000, Skutki ustawy antyaborcyjnej – Raport Federacji 2000 [The effects of anti-abortion law in Poland, Report 2000], Warszawa, on the web, http://www.federa.org.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=81&Itemid=75.
[15] Federacja na rzecz Kobiet i Planowania Rodziny, 2007, Prawa reprodukcyjne w Polsce. Skutki ustawy antyaborcyjnej. Raport 2007 [Reproductive rights in Poland. The effects of anti-abortion law-Report 2007], Warszawa.
[16] Frątczak E., Pęczkowski M., 2002, The evaluation of changes in attitudes and reproductive behaviours of young and middle generations of female and male Poles and their influence on the process of family, union, household formation and dissolution – Polish Retrospective Survey 2001, SAS User’s Guide, SGH, SAS Institute Polska, Warsaw.
[17] Frątczak E., Gach U., Pęczkowski M., Sienkiewicz K., 2008, The evaluation of changes in attitudes and reproductive behaviours of young and middle generations of female and male poles and their influence on the process of family, union, household formation and dissolution – Polish Retrospective Survey 2006, SAS User’s Guide, SGH, SAS Institute Polska, Warsaw.
[18] Freeman LC., 1979, Centrality in Social Networks: I. Conceptual Clarifications, “Social Networks”, No. 1, 215–239.
[19] Frejka T., 2008, Overview Chapter 3: Birth regulation in Europe: Completing the contraceptive revolution, “Demographic Research”, Vol. 19(5): 73–84.
[20] Friedkin N., 1993, Structural Bases of Interpersonal Influence in Groups: A Longitudinal Case Study, “American Sociological Review”, No. 58, 661–872.
[21] Friedkin N.E., 1982, Information Flow through Strong and Weak Ties in Intraorganizational Social Networks, “Social Networks”, No. 3: 273–285.
[22] Granovetter M., 1973, The strength of weak ties, “American Journal of Sociology”, No. 78, 1360–1380.
[23] Inglehart R.F., 1977, The Silent Revolution, Princeton University Press, New York.
[24] Inglehart R.F., 1997, Modernization and Postmodernization, Princeton University Press, New York.
[25] Inglehart R.F., 2003, Culture and Social Change: Findings from the Value Surveys, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden.
[26] Inglehart R.F., Welzel Ch., 2005, Modernization, Cultural Change and Democracy: The Human Development Sequence, Cambridge University Press, New York.
[27] Kohler H.-P., Behrman J.S., Watkins S.C., 2001, The Structure of Social Networks and fertility Decisions: Evidence from South Nyanza District Kenya, “Demography”, No. 38, 43–58.
[28] Kohler, H.-P., 2001, Fertility and Social Interactions: an Economic Perspective, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[29] Kohler H.-P., Billari F.C., Ortega J.A., 2002, The Emergence of Lowest-Low Fertility in Europe during the 1990s, “Population and Development Review”, No. 28, 641–680.
[30] Koytcheva E., Philipov D., 2008, Bulgaria: Ethnic differentials in rapidly declining fertility, “Demographic Research”, Vol. 19, 361–402, on the web, http://www.demographic-research.org/special/7/.
[31] Kulczycki A., 1995, Abortion Policy in Postcommunist Europe: The Conflict in Poland, “Population and Development Review”, No. 21(3), 471–505.
[32] Lesthaeghe R., Cultural Dynamics and Economic Theories of Fertility Change, ”Population and Development Review”, No. 14(1), 1–45.
[33] Lesthaeghe R., Van de Kaa D., 1986, Twee demografische transities, [in:] R. Lesthaeghe, D. Van de Kaa (eds.), Bevolking – Groei en Krimp, Mens en Maatschappij, Van Loghum Slaterus, Deventer.
[34] Lesthaeghe R., On Theory Development: Applications to the Study of Family Formation, “Population and Development Review”, Vol. 24(1), 1–14.
[35] Lesthaeghe R., Moors, Life Course Transitions and Value Orientations: Selection and Adaptation, [in:] R. Lesthaeghe, W.G. Axinn (eds.), Meaning and Choice: Value Orientations and Life Course Decisions, NIDI/CBGS, Haag/Brussel, 1–44.
[36] Mariański J., 2001, Kryzys moralny czy transformacja wartości? Studium socjologiczne, TNKUL, Lublin.
[37] Marsden P.V., 1998, Diffusion through Social Networks, paper prepared for the workshop Social Processes Underlying Fertility Change in Developing Countries, National Research Council, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Committee on Population, Washington, 29–30.
[38] Marsden P.V., Friedkin N.E., 1993, Network Studies of Social Influence, “Sociological Methods & Research”, No. 22, 127–151.
[39] Miller B., Pasta D.J., 1995, Behavioral intentions: which ones predict fertility behavior in married couples?, “Journal of Applied Social Psychology”, Vol. 25(6), 530–555.
[40] Mitchell J.C., 1973, Networks, Norms, and Institutions, [in:] J. Boissevain, J.C. Mitchell (eds.), Network Analysis: Studies in Human Interaction, Mouton, Hague, 2–35.
[41] Montgomery M.R., Casterline J.B., 1993, The Diffusion of Fertility Control in Taiwan: Evidence from Pooled Cross-Section Time-Series Models, “Population Studies”, No. 47, 457–479.
[42] Montgomery M.R., Casterline J.B., 1996, Social Learning, Social Influence, and New Models of Fertility, “Population and Development Review”, No. 22, 151–175.
[43] Philipov D., Berghammer C., 2007, Religion and fertility ideals, intentions and behaviour: a comparative study of European countries. “Vienna Yearbook of Population Research”, 271–305.
[44] Philipov D., Spéder Z., Billari F.C., 2006, Soon, Later, or Ever? The Impact of Anomie and Social Capital on Fertility Intentions in Bulgaria (2002) and Hungary (2001), “Population Studies”, No. 60, 289–308.
[45] Rogers E.M., 1995, Diffusion of Innovations, The Free Press, New York.
[46] Rosero-Bixby L., Casterline J.B., 1994, Interaction, Diffusion and Fertility Transition in Costa Rica, “Social Forces”, No. 73, 435–462.
[47] Schweizer T., 1996, Muster sozialer Ordnung. Netzwerkanalyse als Fundament der Sozialethnologie, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin.
[48] The Government Population Council, 2005, National Report: Poland – Ten Years after Cairo, Warsaw.
[49] UN, 1996, Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5–13 September 1994, UNICPD’ 94, New York.
[50] UN, 2000, The Resolution adopted by the General Assembly 55/2 United Nations Millennium Declaration, 2000, A/RES/55/2.
[51] UN, 2001, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action with the Beijing+5 Political Declaration and Outcome Document, New York.
[52] UN, 2008, World Population Policies 2007, New York.
[53] UNDP, 2007, Raport: Zdrowie Kobiet w wieku prokreacyjnym 15 – 49 lat. Polska 2006 [Report: The Heath of Women in Reproductive Age 15-49 years old], Warszawa.
[54] UNDP, 2007, World Contraceptive Use 2007, Population Division, on the web, www.unpopulation.org
[55] Valente T.W., Watkins S.C., Jato M.N., Van der Straten A., Tsitsol L.-P., 1997, Social Network Associations with Contraceptive Use among Cameroonian Women in Voluntary Associations, “Social Science & Medicine”, No. 45, 677–687.
[56] van der Poel M., 1993, Personal Networks. A Rational-Choice Explanation of their Size and Composition, Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse.