Codes and Frequencies
Description
DECFAMSIZE reports who in the woman's household usually makes decisions regarding how many children to have.
Comparability — Index
GENERAL Egypt |
Sao Tome Zambia |
Zimbabwe |
Comparability
Along with universe differences and differences in question wording (described below), DECFAMSIZE varies across samples in response categories. For example, while some samples include a category for joint decision-making by the female respondent and her partner, others require selecting just one person as having the greatest say in this decision.
Comparability - Standard DHS
DECFAMSIZE is a country-specific variable not included in any phase of the standard DHS questionnaire.
Comparability — Egypt [top]
The 1992 Egypt survey asks about who has "the most influence in deciding whether or not to have another [child]."
Comparability — Sao Tome [top]
The 2008 Sao Tome and Principe survey added the phrase "and when you should have them [the children]" to the question wording.
Comparability — Zambia [top]
The 2001 Zambia survey asks about who has the final say on "deciding how many children to have and when."
Comparability — Zimbabwe [top]
The 1994 Zimbabwe survey initially asked the open-ended question, "Who decides how many children you will have?" The survey then asked the follow-up question, "Who has the greatest say in deciding how many children to have?" DECFAMSIZE reports the results of the second, follow-up question. As a result of the question format, "Woman and husband/partner" was not an available response.
Universe
- Egypt 1992: Ever-married women age 15-49.
- Sao Tome 2008: Women age 15-49 who are currently married or living with a man.
- Zambia 2001: All women age 15-49.
- Zimbabwe 1994: All women age 15-49.