Several developing countries introduced family planning programs to reduce their population growth rates. The rapid spread of birth control programs in the developing countries was at times accompanied by measures which violated human rights. In response to the ethical violations and coercive policies on population control, toward the end of 1980s various international committees formulated a reproductive health approach to overcome the limited population control approach. Unlike other population control programs, the focus of reproductive health program is on “reproductive process,” where as the most immediate focus of family planning programs is on fertility. Although studies refer to reproductive health approach as an extension of fertility control approach, literature on reproductive health provides very few systematic approaches toward developing explanations of reproductive health. The current approaches on population control are influenced by the ideological shift towards a broad-based approach which involves fertility or family size as one of the components of reproductive health. The present study uses intermediate variables framework suggested by Davis and Blake to organize reproductive health explanations. The proposed framework suggests that the state of reproductive health is indicated by intercourse, conception, and gestation variables and assumes that reproductive health is a latent dimensional outcome indicated by …

Many researchers have sought to identify the antecedents of deviant behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore whether family rituals might contribute to social control, and thereby reduce deviant behavior. Walter Reckless' containment theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. This theory suggests that both inner and outer containment variables control social behavior. It was proposed that meaningful family rituals would contribute to the development of inner and outer containment, and therefore, reduce the number of deviant behaviors committed by the respondents. In this study, the inner containment variable was self-esteem, and the outer containment variables were participation in conforming activities with family members both inside and outside the home, and participation in extracurricular activities. Two hundred and seven incarcerated respondents and 217 college students responded to three survey instruments, the Family Rituals Questionnaire, the Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory, and a Family Information Inventory. Findings indicated that the college students reported experiencing more meaningful family rituals than the incarcerated respondents. Results indicate that the two groups differed significantly on all of the major variables. However, meaningful family rituals had little association with self-esteem, and self-esteem had no relationship with deviant behavior. Meaningful family rituals did account for …