Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of norm of family size of policemen on family planning in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The population for this study comprised all the policemen in the six divisional police headquarters in Oredo Local Government Area of Edu State, Nigeria. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the subjects. A sample of 217 policemen was used for this study. The instrument for data collection was a multiple choice type questionnaire. Frequency counts, percentages and pie charts were used in analysing the research questions. The following results were obtained. The majority of policemen (72.7%) desired a large family size of four or more children as a norm. The policemen sampled sought status and security through large families and showed preference for male children. In addition, policemen norm of family size was found to have influenced their family planning practices as over 80% of respondents did not practice family planning. The study recommends that policemen should make use of modern means of safeguarding against old age and Government at all levels should provide the necessary assistance required by family planning units to carry out enlightenment campaigns. Verf.-Referat