ABSTRACT
PIP: Findings related to 20 empirical studies relating to boy preference in Korea during the past 10 years are summarized under 5 headings: 1) boy preference in the familial values; 2) boy preference in the ideal number of children; 3) boy preference in family planning behavior; 4) relationship between boy preference attitude and fertility behavior; and 5) social-psychological characteristics associated with boy preference attitude. Studies made at the turn of the 1960s were descriptive and viewed boy preference only as a dependent variable; since the late 1960s, boy preference began to receive attention as a factor contributing to fertility behavior. A son was regarded as important for support in old age and family lineage. Until the 1960s, the ideal number of sons had always exceeded that of daughters by 1 person. In the 1970s, the difference was reduced to .5. Several studies showed that sex composition of children affects the rate of contraceptive practice: the greater the number of living sons, the higher the likelihood of women using contraceptives. The same was not true for living daughters. Mothers with more sons than daughters have a stronger boy preference attitude than mothers of girl-skewed or balanced families. Boy preference attitude was positively related to the number of living children and the number of pregnancies.^ieng
