Social-demographic influence on first birth interval in China, 1980-1992

This study examines the delay between first marriage and first live birth in China among a sample of women who married between 1980 and 1992. Most couples in China only use contraception after the first child is born. Most sample women had their first child within 2 years of marriage. However, there are significant rural-urban differences in the first birth interval, indicating that there was most probably deliberate fertility regulation after marriage among many urban couples. Survival analysis shows that place of residence, level of education, age at first marriage and marriage cohort affect the first birth interval.     

Alternative theories of the relationship of schooling and work to family formation: evidence from Mexico

Role incompatibility, education as an investment in human capital, and schooling as a transformative experience are three mechanisms that link women's education to the timing of marriage and first birth. We simultaneously evaluate these different explanations using retrospective life history data for two cohorts of Mexican women collected in a nationally representative sample. Our analyses provide evidence in support of all three hypotheses. While in school young women are at a substantially lower risk of marriage and of a first birth. We find no evidence that women leave school to enter into unions nor do we find evidence that the effect of being a student diminishes with age. Women who work for a wage are also at a lower risk of marriage and a first birth. Once we control for student and employment status, the direct effects of cumulative education on family formation are relatively modest, although cumulative education is strongly associated with positive attitudes towards women's work and a significant increase in the likelihood of premarital and postmarital employment.     

Differential fertility in Bangladesh: A path analysis

Abstract

This study attempts to show both theoretically and empirically the causal links between selected background, socioeconomic, and demographic variables, on the one hand, and between these variables and cumulative fertility, on the other. Two distinct models, urban and rural, emerge as a result of a statistical test. In both models, neither wife's nor husband's childhood background is found to have any significant direct effects on fertility. Wife's age, religion, and age at marriage are the common variables which directly affect the number of children ever born. While age and religion bear positive direct effects, age at marriage exerts a negative direct effect. The indirect effect of religion is positive both in the rural and urban area. Both the direct and indirect effects of wife's education on fertility in urban Bangladesh are negative. Husband's education, in contrast, has a positive direct effect in the urban area and no effect at all in the rural area.     

Socioeconomic determinants of age at first marriage in Bangladesh

Using data from the 1976 Bangladesh Fertility Survey, multiple classification analysis was used to evaluate the effect of socioeconomic factors on age at 1st marriage. The independent variables considered were education, childhood and current residence, religion, work status before marriage, and husband's childhood residence, education, and occupation. Analysis was carried out for the total sample as well as for 3 birth cohorts of approximately equal size: 1) those born before 1940, 2) those born between 1940-50, and 3) those born after 1950. Of all the included variables, women's education has the strongest influence on the variation of age at 1st marriage. For all ever-married women, the mean age at marriage for women with primary education is 13.4 years, 0.9 years higher than for women with no education (12.5 years), and 1.2 years lower than for women with a high school education or beyond (14.6 years). Difference in means for cohorts indicate a gradually increasing influence of education on people's decision in marriage. Husband's education does not appear to be as important. Childhood residence has, directly and indirectly, a strong influence in marriage age. Among other factors, women's premarital work participation, as well as region and husband's occupation, are important. Since women's education, childhood residence, and work participation are the strongest socioeconomic variables affecting marriage age, the modernizing influences of education, urbanization, and female work participation should have an effect on the marriage pattern; this effect is consistent with that observed in other societies.     

The impact of labor-saving technology on first birth intervals in rural Ethiopia

Across the developing world labor-saving technologies introduce considerable savings in the time and energy that women allocate to work. Hormonal studies on natural fertility populations indicate that such a reduction in energetic expenditure (rather than improved nutritional status alone) can lead to increased ovarian function. Other qualitative studies have highlighted a link between labor-saving technology and behavioral changes affecting subsequent age at marriage, which may affect fertility. This biodemographic study was designed to investigate whether these physiological and behavioral changes affect fertility at a population level by focusing on a recent water development scheme in Southern Ethiopia. The demographic consequences of a reduction in women's workload following the installation of water points, specifically the variation in length of first birth interval (time lapsed between marriage and first birth), are investigated. First birth interval length is closely associated with lifetime fertility in populations that do not practice contraception, longer intervals being associated with lower fertility. Using life tables and multivariate hazard modeling techniques a number of significant predictors of first birth interval length are identified. Covariates such as age at marriage, season of marriage, village ecology, and access to improved water supply have significant effects on variation in first birth intervals. When entered into models as a time-varying covariate, access to a water tap stand is associated with an immediate reduction in length of first birth intervals.     

Kin influences on fertility in Thailand: Effects and mechanisms

It has been suggested that human mothers are cooperative breeders, as they need help from others to successfully raise offspring. Studies working under this framework have found correlations between the presence of kin and both child survival and female fertility rates. This study seeks to understand the proximate mechanisms by which kin influence fertility using data from the 1987 Thailand Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), a nationally representative sample of 6775 women. Kin influence is measured by the length of time couples live with the husband's or wife's parents after marriage. Event history analysis, multilevel modeling and structural equation modeling are used to investigate both fertility outcomes and potential pathways through which postnuptial residence may influence fertility outcomes, including employment status, maternal and child outcomes, contraceptive use, breastfeeding duration, and age at marriage. We show that living virilocally (with husband's kin after marriage) increases total fertility by shortening time from marriage to first birth, and increasing the likelihood of progression to each subsequent birth. These effects are mediated through correlations between virilocal residence and earlier age at marriage as well as delayed initiation of contraceptive use. We find no influence of husband's kin on maternal or child outcomes. Living uxorilocally (with wife's kin after marriage) also reduces age at marriage, shortens time from marriage to first birth and (marginally) improves child survivorship, but has no effect on other child and maternal outcomes or progression to subsequent births and results in a similar number of living children as women living neolocally.     

Rural-urban differentials in marital fertility in four Muslim populations

An analysis based on data collected as a part of the World Fertility Survey program in 4 Muslim populations Bangladesh, Java, Jordan and Pakistan does not show a consistent pattern in rural-urban differentials in marital fertility. While no significant diiferential in current fertility by place of current residence is noticeable in Bangladesh and Pakistan, urban women in Jordan showed lower fertility than their rural counterparts. Cumulative fertility, when controlled for duration of marriage, was found to be higher in urban than in rural areas of Bangladesh and Pakistan, but no clear pattern emerged in Jordan. In Java, both current and cumulative fertility were higher in urban than in rural areas; urban women who had spent their childhood and were brought up in the urban environment showed, in most instances, higher fertility than the other residence groups. (author's modified     

The influence of female education,labor force participation,and age at marriage on fertility behavior in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper studies the relationship between three aspects of female status (education, work experience, and age at marriage) and the use of contraception and fertility in Bangladesh. Education is found to be the variable most strongly correlated with use of contraception and is also one of the significant variables explaining fertility behavior. The most important factor explaining fertility behavior is age at marriage. The higher the age at marriage, the lower the fertility, when all other factors are held constant. Work experience has very little or no effect on current use of contraception and fertility.     

The effect of female education on marital fertility in different size communities of Mexico

Based on a very large sample of married women aged 15 to 49 from the 1970 census of Mexico, the effect of literacy and education on the number of children ever born in different size communities is investigated. While cumulative marital fertility tends to be inversely related to community size, the overall shape of the education-fertility relationship is generally similar in rural, semi-urban, small urban, and large urban localities. These results combined with those for literacy do not support the hypothesis of an urbanization or a literacy threshold at which women's schooling begins to reduce family size. Literate wives have slightly more children than illiterate wives in rural areas, but in more urbanized regions this differential inverses and seems to widen with each increase in size of the community. Fertility is slightly higher at 1 to 3 years of primary school than at no education; it declines slightly at 4 to 5 years primary, and then declines substantially at complete primary, secondary, and preparatory/university levels. A statistically significant but small interaction between education and residence on cumulative marital fertility is noted. The overall greater impact of female education on cumulative marital fertility in urban as compared to semi-urban as compared to rural communities of Mexico is primarily due to the proportion of married women with fertility depressing educational backgrounds rather than to a markedly different effect of education, per se, on fertility. The results emphasize the country-wide importance of completion of the entire 6-year primary cycle.     

Premarital fertility in Namibia: trends, factors and consequences

Premarital fertility, defined as fertility before first marriage, was found to be highly prevalent in Namibia. According to data from the 1992 and 2000 DHS surveys, the proportion of premarital births was 43% for all births, and 60% for the first birth. This seemed to be primarily due to a late mean age at first marriage (26.4 years) and low levels of contraception before first marriage. Data were analysed using a variety of demographic methods, including multiple decrement life table and multivariate logistic models. Major variations were found by ethno-linguistic groups: Herero and Nama/Damara had the highest levels of premarital fertility (above 60%); Ovambo and Lozi had intermediate levels of premarital fertility (around 40%); Kavongo and San appeared to have kept a more traditional behaviour of early marriage and low levels of premarital fertility (around 20%). The largest ethno-linguistic group, the Ovambo, were in a special situation, with fast increasing age at marriage and average level of premarital fertility. Whites and mixed races also differed, with Afrikaans-speaking groups having a behaviour closer to the average, whereas other Europeans had less premarital fertility despite an average age at marriage. Ethnic differences remained stable after controlling for various socioeconomic factors, such as urbanization, level of education, wealth, access to mass media, and religion. Results are discussed in light of the population dynamics and political history of Namibia in the 20th century.     

Reproductive change in Zimbabwe and Kenya: the role of the proximate determinants in recent fertility trends

This study examines trends in proximate determinants of fertility in Zimbabwe and Kenya. Findings from the four Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in these countries show that the dramatic fall in fertility in these countries is consistent with the underlying trends in the most important proximate determinants of fertility. In Zimbabwe, contraceptive use far exceeds other proximate determinants in influencing fertility levels and trends. The results show that the fertility inhibiting effects of contraception are more important than the effects of postpartum infecundability, marriage patterns, or sterility. The results also show that contraceptive use has its greatest suppressing effects in the middle and younger age groups. However, in Kenya, the dominant fertility inhibiting effect is postpartum infecundability, with contraception coming in second.     

Premarital childbearing in northwest Kenya: challenging the concept of illegitimacy

A number of African countries, including Kenya, have experienced a marked rise in births among unmarried women. In Western countries, reproduction outside of marriage is assumed to be illegitimate and a social problem. One hypothesis used to explain the increasing incidence of premarital fertility in Africa is a breakdown of traditional social controls by the extended family over the sexual behavior of adolescents. A competing hypothesis suggests that unmarried women use sexual relations to achieve goals such as marriage. Among Turkana pastoralists of northwest Kenya, we find a pattern of premarital birth that fits either hypothesis only loosely. Premarital fertility among the Turkana is both widespread and culturally acceptable, with over 30 per cent of women having at least one child prior to marriage. Although women with premarital births initiate childbearing on average one year earlier than women with only marital births, women's marital status does not influence the length of the interval between first and second births. Marriage among the Turkana is not a social trigger for the onset and continuation of reproduction or a means to legitimate reproduction. Marital status of the parents simply determines the custody of a child. In a premarital birth, the father pays a set fee to the mother's family, and the custody of the child remains permanently with the mother's family. If the parents later marry, the father must purchase custody of the child by another fee at that time. Since the Turkana have experienced few effects of modernization, the existence of such a practice suggests that cultural factors must be taken into account before assessing premarital fertility in Africa as a social problem.     

Education, fertility and contraception among Hindus and Roman Catholics in Goa

Differences in age at marriage, fertility and contraceptive use are related to religious background, individual educational level and community level education. In general, the effects of community education are weak compared to individual level of education, but differences exist between Hindus and Roman Catholics.     

Correcting contraceptive failure rates for sample composition and sample selection bias

Abstract

There is reason to believe that in the short run marriages are becoming more stable in some Western African countries such as Cameroon. One of the crucial questions facing these countries is whether fertility rates can be expected to increase or decrease due in part to the increased stability of marriages. Analyzing 1978 Cameroon World Fertility Survey data and using a multivariate regression model which compares the fertility rate of women who have had at least one marital disruption with that of continuously married women, we studied the relationship between marital instability and fertility. The results show that fertility rates for women married more than once are significantly lower than those for continuously married women even before the end of their first marriage. Furthermore, marital disruption significantly reduces fertility rates after the dissolution of the first marriage. Finally, even after the length of reproductive time lost is controlled, there is an inverse relationship between the number of marriages and fertility. The results are discussed in the context of economic development, modernization, and urbanization.     

A note on the determinants of breastfeeding durations in an African country

This paper utilizes data from the 1977-78 Kenya Fertility Survey, 1 component of the World Fertility Survey, to analyze the determinants of breastfeeding durations for women 15 to 50 years old who had their last-but-1 live birth between 3 and 15 years prior to the interview. Comparisons are made with the findings fro m the World Fertility Surveys in 8 other developing countries in Asia and Latin America. Findings indicate that literacy, urban residence, secondary school education, and modern employment reduce the duration of breastfeeding in Kenya. In addition, the subgroups of women who appear to be curtailing breastfeeding are growing in proportional size or are composed of women may be innovators or leaders. A continuation of this pattern into the future may increase levels of infant morbidity and mortality and, in the absence of increased modern contraceptive practice, may increase the societal level of fertility. The death of the infant curtails the period of breastfeeding. Although there is a pronounced preference for male children in Kenya, this preference does not lead to differential durations of breastfeeding by sex of child. About 10% of Kenyan women used contraception in the last closed interval. Parity and age explain less than 1% of the variation in duration of breastfeeding in Kenya. Kenyan women are among the least likely to have attended secondary school, to have worked since marriage, and to have used modern contraception. The most traditional groups of Kenyan women, those who are Muslim or who are in polygamous unions, breastfeed for the longest durations. The Kenya Fertility Survey suggests that the subgroup of women with some secondary school education is growing considerably. Kikuyu women may be regarded as innovators in many respects. In addition to having shorter breastfeeding durations, they are the least likely to be in polygamous unions or to want more children, and they are the most likely to be using contraception.     

Education as policy: the impact of education on marriage, contraception, and fertility in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia

Using data from the World Fertility and Demographic and Health Surveys of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, we model the effects of education on three demographic outcomes: the timing of first sexual union, contraceptive use, and fertility. These effects are examined over time and across geographic areas using a multivariate framework. We find substantial improvements in female educational attainment over the last fifty years and a strong relationship between education and the demographic outcomes. Each successive increment in education is associated with declines in the marriage rate, increased contraceptive use, and lower fertility. Education accounts for some of the changes over time in the demographic outcomes, but the pattern varies by outcome, time period, and geographic area. In support of the social diffusion hypothesis, our results indicate that educational differences in reproductive behavior are reduced as the level of development increases and societies pass through their demographic transition.     

Fertility of the Tibetans migrated to Northen India

This paper aims to study the fertility rate of the migrant Tibetans residing in Northern India and finding out the factors which are affecting the fertility level among them. Data are reported on age at menarche, age at marriage, first childbirth, use of contraception, widowhood, migration and on various fertility measures in the Tibetan of Northern India living at low and moderate altitude (600–2000 m), who have migrated from high altitude (4000 m above sea level) in Tibet. The migrant Tibetans reported a relatively lower fertility as compared to the high and moderate altitude populations. This lower fertility is mostly attributable to the use of contraception, the later mean age at marriage and first childbirth, and relatively high proportion of widows in the migrant Tibetans. However, the social as well as biological changes in population during migration should not be overlooked, which have a sufficient impact on fertility.     

Determinants of Sexual Activity and Pregnancy among Unmarried Young Women in Urban Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives

With age of marriage rising in Kenya, the period between onset of puberty and first marriage has increased, resulting in higher rates of premarital sexual activity and pregnancy. We assessed the determinants of sexual activity and pregnancy among young unmarried women in urban Kenya.

Methods

Baseline data from five urban areas in Kenya (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Machakos, and Kakamega) collected in 2010 by the Measurement, Learning & Evaluation project were used. Women aged 15-24 years, who had never been married, and were not living with a male partner at the time of survey (weighted n=2020) were included. Using weighted, multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression and logistic regression analyses, we assessed factors associated with three outcome measures: time to first sex, time to first pregnancy, and teenage pregnancy.

Results

One-half of our sample had ever had sex; the mean age at first sex among the sexually-experienced was 17.7 (± 2.6) years. About 15% had ever been pregnant; mean age at first pregnancy was 18.3 (±2.2) years. Approximately 11% had a teenage pregnancy. Three-quarters (76%) of those who had ever been pregnant (weighted n=306) reported the pregnancy was unwanted at the time. Having secondary education was associated with a later time to first sex and first pregnancy. In addition, religion, religiosity, and employment status were associated with time to first sex while city of residence, household size, characteristics of household head, family planning knowledge and misconceptions, and early sexual debut were significantly associated with time to first pregnancy. Education, city of residence, household wealth, early sexual debut, and contraceptive use at sexual debut were associated with teenage pregnancy for those 20-24 years.

Conclusion

Understanding risk and protective factors of youth sexual and reproductive health can inform programs to improve young people’s long-term potential by avoiding early and unintended pregnancies.     

Clinical implications of genetic susceptibility to diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Relatively little attention has been given to the interpretation of age‐at‐marriage differences in fertility. This paper discusses possible demographic and sociological sources of this differential. The argument is made that sociological interpretations deserve increased attention since most of the observed differential persists after control for likely demographic components (premarital pregnancy, unwanted fertility, and subfecundity) and for correlated social and background variables (education of self and parents, religion, farm background, number of siblings, whether respondent's parental family was intact, and husband's age at marriage). Multiple‐classification analysis is employed. The analysis concludes by noting that age at first birth has an even stronger relationship with fertility than age at marriage and that the sociological dimensions of age relevant to age at marriage are even more appropriate to age at entrance into motherhood.     

Harijans and Girijans of Andhra Pradesh: an application of analysis of variance in the study of fertility,mortality and family planning

Research on the Bagatha tribe and the Malas and Madigas in India has been done for economic and social planning purposes in regard to family planning. Bagatha are mostly agricultural people where the nuclear family is prevalent and polygamy is popular as well as cousin marriage. The Madigas and Males (Harijans) are lower caste with the 1st being leather workers and the latter being agricultural helpers. The data was collected by direct interview of 202 tribesmen and 202 caste households with women from 15-49 years of age. The data collected on fertility include live births, child survival rate, fetal wastage, husband and wives education, income, and occupations. On mortality, the number of deaths, age at marriage, number of and intervals of pregnancies. As expected, educated and employed families show healthier and higher levels of fertility especially if the wife is educated. The wife shows more of the responsibility for family planning. The age at marriage and the number of pregnancies appears to have little effect on mortality. In the caste group the education level of the husband has little effect on fertility and again the wife has the primary responsibility in using family planning techniques.