Ethnicity and fertility in Liberia: A test of the minority group status hypothesis

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between ethnicity and fertility in Liberia, within the context of the minority group status hypothesis. The hypothesis argues that minority group status exerts an independent effect on fertility, net of controls for socioeconomic and demographic variables. Using a subsample of women from the 1974 Liberian census, the study examines interethnic variations in fertility by comparing five ethnic minorities—Bassa, Vai, Grebo, Kru, Kpelle—with the majority group, Americo‐Liberian. With the possible exception of Bassa women, the findings do not support the minority group status hypothesis. Instead, the findings are more congruent with the alternative assimilationist hypothesis which argues that when sociodemographic differences between majority and minority groups are controlled, their fertility levels should converge. The implications of these findings are explored.     

Internal ethnicity in the ethnic economy

Internal ethnicity refers to ethnic subgroups within an immigrant group. An ‘ethnic economy’ includes the self‐employed and their co‐ethnic workers. Although most research treats the boundaries of ‘ethnic economy’ and its variant, the ‘ethnic enclave economy’, as though they were coterminous with those of national‐origin immigrant groups, this assumption is unreliable. Ethnic boundaries need not coincide with those of nationality origin when internal ethnicity exists. To test this hypothesis, we utilize survey data collected from a sample of Iranians in Los Angeles. Because this national‐origin immigrant group contains four ethno‐religious subgroups (Armenians, Bahais, Jews and Muslims), the Iranians in Los Angeles operated four distinctive ethnic economies, not one. Each ethno‐religious subgroup had its own ethnic economy, and these separate economies were only weakly tied to an encompassing Iranian ethnic economy.     

Maximal exercise capacity in adolescent European and Amerindian high-altitude natives

Forty-seven highland natives were given maximal exercise tests on a treadmill ergometer at 3,600 m. The subjects were grouped into four subsamples on the basis of ethnicity (European vs. Aymara) and age (young vs. old adolescent). Two-way ANOVA indicated that VO2max adjusted for body size did not differ significantly between ethnic groups but was significantly larger in older than younger boys within each ethnic group (p less than .05). This finding does not support the hypothesis that Amerindian highland natives have adapted genetically to hypoxia but is consistent with the hypothesis that the relatively high VO2max's of highlanders are acquired by developmental adaptation. Several measures of ventilation and oxygen transport capacity differed significantly between ethnic groups, suggesting that growing European and Aymara boys may respond somewhat differently to the stress of high-altitude hypoxia. However, despite these differences, VO2max, an integrated measure of the overall functional capacity of the oxygen transport system, did not differ significantly between ethnic groups, suggesting that both groups are equally capable of meeting the body's oxygen requirements during maximal exercise at high altitude.     

Ethnicity and fertility in Liberia: a test of the minority group status hypothesis

This study examines the relationship between ethnicity and fertility in Liberia, within the context of the minority group status hypothesis. The hypothesis argues that minority group status exerts an independent effect on fertility, net of controls for socioeconomic and demographic variables. Using a subsample of women from the 1974 Liberian census, the study examines interethnic variations in fertility by comparing five ethnic minorities--Bassa, Vai, Grebo, Kru, Kpelle--with the majority group, Americo-Liberian. With the possible exception of Bassa women, the findings do not support the minority group status hypothesis. Instead, the findings are more congruent with the alternative assimilationist hypothesis which argues that when sociodemographic differences between majority and minority groups are controlled, their fertility levels should converge. The implications of these findings are explored.     

Immigration and the cost of ethnic subordination: the case of Israeli society

This study focuses on earnings disadvantages experienced by three ethnic groups of Jewish immigrants in Israel. Data were obtained from the 2011 Income Survey gathered by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. The findings reveal that when compared to Israeli-born, all ethnic groups are disadvantaged in earnings attainment in the first generation. The earnings disadvantages of immigrants as compared to Israeli-born decrease with the passage of time and become negligible in the second generation. To disentangle the impact on earnings penalty of ethnic origin from that of immigrant status, a procedure for decomposing mean differences between groups is introduced. The analysis reveals that earnings disadvantage among Ashkenazim and Soviet immigrants can be attributed to immigrant status but not to ethnicity. By contrast, earnings penalties among Sephardim immigrants can be attributed to both ethnicity and immigrant status. The implications of the long-lasting effect of ethnicity versus the short-term effect of immigrant status are discussed.     

Unions between blacks and whites: England and the US compared

In this article, US and UK census data are used to compare the propensity for matches between blacks and native born whites in England and the US. Blacks are disaggregated into three ethnic groups: Black Caribbeans, Residual Blacks and, in the US, African Americans. The first group receives the most theoretical attention. Both raw percentages and parameters that control for several covariates - such as age, education and city of residence - are examined. The results indicate that, with or without controls and irrespective of ethnicity, blacks in Britain are significantly more likely to have a native born white partner than their US counterparts. These findings accord with assimilation theory, but the article's conclusion suggests that, in both countries, the assimilation of people of African descent operates differently from the assimilation of whites.     

Obesity and C-reactive protein levels among white, black, and hispanic US adults

Objective: Studies suggest that obesity's adverse impact on cardiovascular mortality may be reduced in African Americans relative to white Americans. We examined whether obesity's association with novel cardiovascular risk factors such as C‐reactive protein (CRP) also varies by race and ethnicity. Methods and Procedures: We analyzed data from 10,492 white, African‐American, and Hispanic‐American participants of the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, who were aged 20 years and older, with a BMI ≥18.5 kg/m² and CRP ≤10 mg/l. We fit sex‐specific multivariable models of the association of BMI or waist circumference with log CRP levels and tested for interactions of BMI or waist circumference with race/ethnicity. Results: Higher BMI was significantly associated with higher CRP in all racial/ethnic groups for both men and women (P > 0.05 for BMI–race/ethnicity interaction) before and after adjustment for age, education, and health behaviors. Larger waist circumference was also associated with higher CRP levels in all racial/ethnic groups before and after adjustment; among women, the relationship was strongest for Mexican Hispanics (P < 0.01 for waist circumference–race/ethnicity interaction). Results were similar after additional adjustment for medications that might affect CRP levels. Discussion: The association between obesity and CRP is at least as strong in African Americans and Hispanic Americans as in white Americans. Racial differences in the relationship between obesity and cardiovascular mortality are unlikely to be due to racial differences in obesity's impact on CRP.     

The physical stature and bmi values of US Army personnel in 1988

The US Army's 1988 Anthropometric Survey (ANSUR) data set is analysed in order to estimate the secular trend of their physical stature and body mass index while controlling for ethnic composition as well as place of birth of their parents. Separate analysis for blacks and whites stratified by gender is presented. The stature of the American population remained constant during most of the period considered, and no substantial ethnic or spatial effects were found. These results add further support to trends based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and imply that the stagnation in height found in those data sets is most probably not biased by the omitted variables pertaining to own ethnicity or second-generation effects of parents' ethnicity or foreign birth.     

Marriage and family formation among the white and ethnic minority populations in Britain

Recent UK Labour Force Survey data are used to investigate marriage and family formation among the white and ethnic minority populations in Britain. The different age‐sex structures of the white and ethnic minority groups are analysed and the increasing number of UK‐born or ‘second‐generation’ persons identified. Large differentials are seen between ethnic minority groups in the propensity to cohabit, marry and experience marital disruption. Average spousal age differences and the propensity to form interethnic unions are also distinctive. Resulting patterns of family and household composition are described. In particular, the data suggest important divergences between individuals of Indian and those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic origin, such that we cannot talk about the demography of the South Asian population as a whole. Comparisons of marriage patterns among ‘first‐’ and ‘second‐generation’ individuals within each ethnic group suggest some assimilation in marriage patterns among the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi populations towards those of the white population.     

Ethnicity and contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Ghana

Using a sub-sample of ever-married women from the 1993 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), this study examines differentials in contraceptive use in six cultural groups: Ga-Adangbe, Twi, Fante/other Akans, Ewe, Guan/others and Mole-Dagbani. Multivariate analysis is used to explore whether reported ethnic differentials in contraceptive use can be attributed to ethnicity or to other characteristics that distinguish the ethnic groups. Overall, the findings are generally more consistent with the 'characteristics' hypothesis, because contraceptive use differentials by ethnic group is accounted for by differences in socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of these women. However, for the Fante/other Akans, even after the necessary controls, ethnicity continued to emerge as a significant determinant of contraceptive use. Programmatic implications of these results are discussed.     

Testing a model of the relationship between gender,ethnicity, clinical status and impact in older adults from minority ethnic groups

Objective: To identity the relationship between indicators of self‐assessed symptom status, the reported impact of oral conditions and clinical indices, and the extent to which this relationship was moderated by gender and ethnicity. Design: Secondary analysis of data from an oral health survey of minority ethnic groups. Participants: Purposive sample of 376 individuals from minority ethnic groups in the United Kingdom recruited through community groups. Measures: Numbers of decayed, missing and filled teeth. Measures of self assessed symptoms, and impact upon quality of life. Results: Impact of oral conditions upon lifestyle was predicted by the number of missing teeth, the presence of pain on eating certain foods and the presence of toothache in the previous four weeks. Social variables (gender and ethnicity) did not predict impact cither singly or through interaction with symptoms. Conclusions: The findings support a linear model of the relationship between the experience of oro‐facial symptoms and impact on everyday life amongst older adults.     

Accidents in the home among children under 5: ethnic differences or social disadvantage?

Accidents in the home to children under 5 in a multiracial population with a high level of social disadvantage were studied by interviewing at home the parents of 402 children attending the accident department of a west London hospital during one year. The parents'' country of birth, whether they were employed, and their housing conditions were recorded using the definitions of the 1981 census. Four ethnic groups (British (183 children), Asian (127), Caribbean (61), and other (31)) were identified. Though attendance rates based on the populations of electoral wards at the census and standardised for distance from the hospital showed no significant differences among the ethnic groups, there was a strong gradient by social class and strong associations with unemployment of the mother (although not of the father), overcrowding, and tenure of housing.Social disadvantage seems to be more important than ethnicity as a determinant of accidents to children in the home.     

Symbolic ethnicity and symbolic religiosity: Towards a comparison of ethnic and religious acculturation

This article begins with a brief section updating my 1979 Ethnic and Racial Studies article ‘Symbolic ethnicity: the future of ethnic groups and cultures in America’. However, its main aim is to describe and develop the somewhat parallel concept of symbolic religiosity, which I conceive as the consumption of religious symbols apart from regular participation in a religious culture or in religious organizations, for the purpose of expressing feelings of religiosity and religious identification. Since I assume that symbolic religiosity develops mainly among the acculturating descendants of immigrants, I also explore the possibility of separating and then comparing ethnic and religious acculturation. I assume further that among religio‐ethnic groups like the Jews, and ethno‐religious groups such as Russian, Greek and other Orthodox Catholics, ethnic and religious acculturation proceed in divergent ways. This raises a number of interesting empirical questions about the differences between and similarities of ethnicity and religion among these groups and in general. The article concludes with speculations about what might happen to ethnicity and religiosity in the future. Most of my illustrative data in this article are drawn from studies and observations about American Jewry.     

The African development dilemma revisited: Theoretical and empirical explorations

This article considers the issue of ethnic diversity in black Africa. In the first part of the article we discuss the various implications and possible consequences of the extensive ethnic diversity that characterizes most African countries, paying special attention to the relationship between the multi‐ethnic state and socio‐economic development. In the second part of the article we delve more deeply into the nature of ethnic diversity in contemporary Africa by examining in detail the cultural differences between two particular ethnic groups, the Kipsigis and Kikuyu of Kenya. Our empirical analyses indicate that some of the historic differences between these groups disappeared during the course of modernization. However, our findings also show that certain traditional aspects of both Kipsigis and Kikuyu culture remain. We conclude by noting the persisting importance of ethnicity as African states continue to struggle with the ‘development dilemma’.     

Within‐ and across‐group dating in Hawaii

Abstract

224 subjects from 5 different racial/ethnic groups responded to a dating questionnaire. There are both sex and racial/ethnic differences in frequency of cross‐ethnic dating in Hawaii and in attitudes (as reported by Ss) of parents and close friends toward within‐and across‐ethnic dating. Females date within their own groups more frequently than males and also report stronger support of within‐ and lesser support of across‐group dating by significant others. Racial/ethnic differences are substantial, with groups higher in mean income being more supportive of within‐group dating, being more accepted by other groups, and being less accepting of dating other groups. Amount of actual intergroup dating was related, in part, to group differences in income, with the two groups lowest in income (Filipinos and Hawaiians/Part Hawaiians) showing the highest amount of cross‐ethnic dating, but with the association breaking down in the upper income groups, possibly because of group differences in group size and in length of residence. The results are remarkably similar to those reported earlier on within‐ and across‐group marriage in Hawaii.     

Ethnic differences in the prevalence of inherited thrombophilic polymorphisms in an asymptomatic Australian prenatal population

Differences in the prevalence of thrombophilias in different ethnic populations have been demonstrated. Because the Australian population includes many different ethnic groups, we sought to assess the effect of ethnicity in our Australian prenatal population on the prevalence of thrombophilic polymorphisms. Asymptomatic, nulliparous women (n = 1,129) recruited for a large prospective study were included in this analysis. These women had no personal or family history of venous thromboembolism and were not known to be carrying an inherited or acquired thrombophilia. Ethnicity was determined at recruitment, and women were categorized as being of Northern European, Southern European, Middle Eastern, Asian, or Other ethnicity. These women underwent genotyping for the following polymorphisms: factor V Leiden G1691A, prothrombin gene A20210G mutation, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C, and thrombomodulin C1418T. The factor V Leiden allele was seen significantly more frequently in patients of Middle Eastern background compared to those of Northern European and Asian ethnicity (p < 0.05). The prothrombin gene mutation was seen significantly more frequently in patients of Southern European ethnicity compared to those of Northern European or Asian ethnicity (p < 0.05). The MTHFR C677T allele (mutant) was significantly less common in those of Asian ethnicity compared to patients of Northern European and Southern European ethnicity (p < 0.0005). There were no significant differences seen with the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism. The mutant thrombomodulin allele was seen significantly more frequently in Asian women compared to Northern European, Southern European, or Middle Eastern women (p < 0.005). There are important ethnic differences in the prevalence of thrombophilic polymorphisms in the Australian prenatal population.     

Racial/ethnic differences in body fatness among children and adolescents

Background: Although the BMI is widely used as a measure of adiposity, it is a measure of excess weight, and its association with body fatness may differ across racial or ethnic groups. Objective: To determine whether differences in body fatness between white, black, Hispanic, and Asian children vary by BMI‐for‐age, and whether the accuracy of overweight (BMI‐for‐age ≥ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 95th percentile) as an indicator of excess adiposity varies by race/ethnicity. Methods and Procedures: Total body dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) provided estimates of %body fat among 1,104 healthy 5‐ to 18‐year‐olds. Results: At equivalent levels of BMI‐for‐age, black children had less (mean, 3%) body fatness than white children, and Asian girls had slightly higher (1%) levels of %body fat than white girls. These differences, however, varied by BMI‐for‐age, with the excess body fatness of Asians evident only among relatively thin children. The ability of overweight to identify girls with excess body fatness also varied by race/ethnicity. Of the girls with excess body fatness, 89% (24/27) of black girls, but only 50% (8/16) of Asian girls, were overweight (P = 0.03). Furthermore, the proportion of overweight girls who had excess body fatness varied from 62% (8/13) among Asians to 100% (13/13) among whites. Discussion: There are racial or ethnic differences in body fatness among children, but these differences vary by BMI‐for‐age. If race/ethnicity differences in body fatness among adults also vary by BMI, it may be difficult to develop race‐specific BMI cut points to identify equivalent levels of %body fat.     

Historical differences in the political experiences of American blacks and white ethnics: Revisiting an unresolved controversy

Influenced by the revival of white ethnicity, a number of scholars began to re‐examine the historical experience of various white ethnic groups by the late sixties and early seventies. A common theme emerges from their historical analysis ‐ the argument that both white ethnics and Blacks faced similar problems adapting to American life resulting from discrimination by the White Anglo‐Saxon Protestant [WASP] mainstream: Many students of the Black experience took issue with this reinterpretation of American history, arguing that Blacks had a subordinate relationship to white society which produced a unique pattern of discrimination. Although scholars on both sides of this controversy have made their positions clear and have provided some supporting evidence, the controversy nevertheless remains unresolved because of the absence of systematic and comparative historical data on Blacks and white ethnics in the same study. The present study attempts to resolve partially this controversy by examining the political experiences of Blacks and three white ethnic groups ‐ Irish, Jews and Italians ‐ during their period of first entry into politics, a period that can greatly influence group political empowerment. The resources each group possessed, and the context and timing of the group's interaction with dominant political elites provide the focus for analysis. The ‘Black exceptional‐ism’ thesis finds strong support in the study. White ethnics were better endowed with relevant resources and experienced much less resistance from the dominant WASP elites than did Blacks. Of great significance was the fact that Blacks were forced to participate in a continuous politics of seeking basic citizenship rights, while white ethnic groups could take their citizenship rights for granted after the early years of immigration to America. Little support was uncovered for the ‘ethno‐racial umbrella’ thesis, which argues for treating race, religion and nationality as part of the same theoretical and policy universe.