Abstract
Married couples are often theoretically and analytically treated as a single unit rather than as an interacting dyad. This is particularly common in studies of marital fertility, since births occur (at least socially) to couples. However, married couples do not always agree about whether and when to have children (Beckman, 1984; Czajka, 1979; Muhsam and Kiser, 1956; Westoff, Mishler, & Kelley, 1957; Westoff, Potter, Sagi, & Mishler, 1961), and there seem to be few real compromises between having and not having a(nother) child. They are therefore often faced with decisions about “joint” contraceptive behavior. Even though specific actions to prevent pregnancy may be undertaken by one or the other spouse, the other’s marital fertility is inhibited. If neither spouse contracepts, they share the risk of conception and birth.
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Thomson, E. (1989). Dyadic Models of Contraceptive Choice, 1957 and 1975. In: Brinberg, D., Jaccard, J. (eds) Dyadic Decision Making. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3516-3_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3516-3_11
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