Son Preference and Its Impact on Family Size and Domestic Violence Against Mothers in South Asia

Abstract

Using household surveys from India and Nepal, this study examines whether the sex composition of children is related to intimate partner violence in a region where many families prefer to have at least one son. The analysis compares women whose previous children have the same sex composition but who differ in the sex of a subsequent child. The sex of the first or second child is not associated with a change in the mother’s risk of violence. By contrast, having no son by the third birth is associated with a 9.6% increase in the violence index relative to having a son, with larger effects in less affluent households and where husbands have no education. Mediation analysis attributes around 40% of the increase in these groups to the decision to have another child. The findings connect son preference, fertility decisions, and women’s exposure to violence.