Structural model of abortion and contraception for Turkey

Alanur Cavlin Bozbeyoglu, Middle East Technical University

This study is an attempt to draw a structural model for fertility control to examine relations between abortion and contraception with a specific emphasis on ethno-cultural background for Turkey using Turkey DHS-2003. Model involves variables “pregnancy intention”, “contraception before pregnancy” and “result of pregnancy (abortion/live birth)”, “number of living children”, and “education”. In the model with ethno-cultural background as moderator, ethno-cultural variation affects contraception and abortion both directly and indirectly through “number of living children”, and “education”. The validity of the same structural model is tested by multiple group analysis. Results show that the final model for general Turkey is also valid for Turks but invalid for Turkish speaking Kurds and Kurds. These results show that the fertility regulation mechanism significantly vary for different ethno-cultural groups in Turkey. In concordance with the assumption of this study, a unique fertility regulation model is not valid for different ethno-cultural groups.