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ning services,7 and research has suggested that language barriers, poverty and a maledominated culture are obstacles to the effective practice of contraception.8 These findings imply that Hispanic women would choose to limit their fertility if they had the required knowledge and resources. However, a woman’s intention to have additional children is one of the most important predictors of childbearing,9 and evidence suggests that Hispanics traditionally desire large families10 and place great cultural importance on motherhood.11 Many Hispanic women believe that bearing large numbers of children will fulfill their expected female role and will ensure that they have someone to care for them and support them financially in their old age.12 The expected social prestige and security associated with motherhood may outweigh the potential financial difficulties entailed in raising a large family. Thus, women who desire large families may be unwilling to practice contraception even if they are provided with contraceptives and educated about their proper use.13 However, evidence in support of this notion is mixed.14 Son preference, which has been documented in various traditional cultures around the world,15 may also influence contraceptive use among Hispanics. In cultures where women desire large numbers of sons, those who have not yet had a son typically do not practice contraception until they have had at least one.16 For example, in Taiwan, women who already had sons were more likely to use reliable methods of birth control and to consider the use of abortion than were women who had no sons.17 If son preference is present among HisJennifer B. Unger is a research assistant professor with the Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research and the Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles. Gregory B. Molina is an educator in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The authors are especially grateful for the invaluable contributions of Marisol Romero, Aidé Pérez, Marco Soto, Claudia Ayala, Vanessa Ponce and America Madrigal, who at the time this study was carried out were students at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, Los Angeles. They were involved from the beginning in the conception and conduct of the research, and participated in the drafting of this article. The authors also wish to thank Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati for her helpful suggestions and the following students for their help with data collection and data entry: Elena Ceja, Isabel Morales, Iris Navarrete, Nieves Garcia, Lizette Alvarez, Rosa Barahona, Susel Orellana, Isabel M. Vera, Yolanda Vasquez, Paula Valle, Yojana Lozada, Luz E. Ojeda, Carol Mendoza and Avygail Sanchez. Desired Family Size and Son Preference Among Hispanic Women of Low Socioeconomic Status