Fennell 1
Introduction
Despite concern with sex-related topics, such as fertility and family life,
demographers have rarely addressed sex in their research and theorizing, except when
studying adolescents (McDaniel 1996; Watkins 1993). Consequently, the models
demographers use to understand fertility decision-making have operated under the
assumption that “coital frequency†is nothing more than a “proximate determinant†of
fertility (Bongaarts 1978). The theoretical position of this paper is that sex (not merely
defined as “coital frequencyâ€) is actually a key determinant of fertility and subsequent
fertility decision-making. However, I argue that the influence of sex on fertility decision-
making is slightly different in short
1
- and long-term relationships; this paper focuses on
the influence of sex in contraceptive decision-making in long-term relationships.
Theory
In this paper, I have constructed an empirical test of a complex theoretical
framework which I have explicated elsewhere in-depth (Fennell, In Progress). This
framework, which looks at the sexual context of fertility decision-making in long-term
relationships, is constructed from another framework which looks at the sexual context of
fertility decision-making in short-term relationships. Both of these frameworks focus on
the United States as their cultural frame of reference, with the expectation that their
assumptions are applicable in most developed countries. These frameworks are shown in
Figures 1 and 2. Their level of analysis is the micro-level, which has been greatly under-
theorized in demography, and their unit of analysis is individual (hetero)sexual
encounters.
1
By “short-term relationships,†I am also referring to the initial stages (approximately one month) of long-
term relationships.
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Convention