Son Preference Attitudes is an 8-item measure of the attitudes men and women hold towards sons in society. Items cover topics such as the importance of having a son to carry the family lineage or the misfortune of having only daughters.
Geographies Tested: India
Populations Included: Female, Male
Age Range: Adults
1. Fathering a male child shows you are a real man.
2. A couple who has only a female child is unfortunate.
3. It is important to have a son to take care of you in your old age.
4. It is important to have a son to carry on the lineage or family name.
5. Having a daughter is a financial burdenloss.
6. If a wife does not have a son, her husband has good reason to leave her or divorce her.
7. If a wife does not have a son, a family has good reason to pressurize her husband to leave her.
8. A couple have good reason to abort a pregnancy if they learn it is a girl child.
Response Options:
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
A composite score is created based on item scores. Scale results are grouped into low, medium and high preference for sons.
Nanda, P., Gautam, A., Verma, R., Khanna, A., Khan, N., Brahme, D., Boyle, S., & Kumar, S. (2014). Study on masculinity, intimate partner violence and son preference in India. International Center for Research on Women.
Psychometric Score
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Criterion (gold-standard)
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KEY
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Evidence-based Measures of Empowerment for Research on Gender Equality (EMERGE)
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