Back to Home page
55 JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE, July 1998, Vol. 30, N° 3
Contraceptive use and desire for more children in two rural districts of Sierra Leone.
Data from a 1993 household survey in rural Sierra Leone revealed that, among women aged 12-49 with at least one child younger than 5, about 13% were rising a contraceptive method and about 67% wanted more children. These rates differ from those reported for the 1980s and 1970s, when the contraceptive use rate was around 6% and more than 85% of women desired more children, suggesting a trend towards fertility limitation over the years. Logistic regression analysis showed that contraceptive use was positively associated with age, number of living children, age at marriage, education, and economic status, and negatively associated with Islamic and traditional religious affiliations. Government and other health clinics, hospitals, and government paramedical personnel were the major sources of contraceptive supplies. The lower desire for more children might relate to demographic pressure from the recent improved child survival rate compounded by recent economic hardship.
English - pp. 287-296.
R. Amin, Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University, Baltimore, U.S.A.
(SIERRA LEONE, RURAL ENVIRONMENT, CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE, FERTILITY DETERMINANTS, DESIRED FAMILY SIZE.)
*****
00.55.2 - MARI BHAT, P. N.; HALLI, S. S.
Factors influencing continuation of IUD use in South India: Evidence from a multivariate analysis.
This paper studies the correlates of IUD continuation, particularly in relation to quality of service provided in Karnataka, South India, by using a discrete-time logit model. Provision of follow-up services had a moderate influence on continuation, and medical check-up at insertion influenced the experience of side effects. But these effects were trivial in comparison with the overriding influence of motivational variables and of reported side effects. The IUD is retained for a limited duration in rural India where it is used mainly as a spacing device by lowly motivated young women who discontinue the method at the slightest feeling of discomfort or abnormality. If the IUD were recommended to older women for limiting childbearing by emphasizing its reversibility, it would enhance the method's popularity and improve the levels of contraceptive use among younger women.
English - pp. 297-319.
P. N. Mari Bhat, Population Research Centre, JSS Institute of Economic Research, Dharwad, India.
(INDIA, IUD, CONTRACEPTION CONTINUATION, ADVERSE EFFECTS, PROGRAMME EVALUATION.)
*****
00.55.3 - PARNELL, Allan M.; RODGERS, Joseph L.
Seasonality of induced abortion in North Carolina.
This paper examines the seasonality of induced abortion in North Carolina between 1980 and 1993. Distinct seasonal patterns are found, with a peak in February and a valley in September. These patterns correspond to the implicit seasonality of conceptions associated with the seasonality of birth pattern. One notable difference from the general pattern is among unmarried women aged 18 and younger. They have the February peak and an additional peak in August that may be associated with the summer vacation from school.
English - pp. 321-332.
A. M. Parnell, Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A.
(UNITED STATES, STATE, INDUCED ABORTION, SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS, TRENDS.)
*****
00.55.4 - ALAM, Nurul; DAVID, Patricia H.
Infant and child mortality in Bangladesh: Age-specific effects of previous child's death.
This study examines whether mortality of two adjacent siblings in families is age-specific and is modified by the MCH-FP programme and fertility and mortality declines in Matlab, Bangladesh, using data for singleton births during 1977-78, 1985-86 and 1989-90 in the treatment (MCH-FP) and comparison areas. Logistic regression was used to estimate the net effects of survival status of elder siblings on mortality of younger siblings in the neonatal, postneonatal and toddler periods, controlling for birth order, previous birth interval, maternal age, education and religion, household possession of valuable items and sex of the child.
Odds of neonatal and postneonatal deaths of younger siblings were found to be higher if the elder sibling had died at the same age than if the sibling had survived infancy. Toddler mortality was lower if the elder sibling had died in infancy. The association between two siblings' mortality risks did not decline over time in either area. The results suggest that a family history of child deaths by age is important to identify when subsequent infants would be at a higher risk of dying.
English - pp. 333-348.
N. Alam, Health and Population Surveillance Programme, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
(BANGLADESH, INFANT MORTALITY, CHILD MORTALITY, MORTALITY DETERMINANTS, DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY.)
*****
00.55.5 - GIL-FRIAS, A.; LUNA, F.
Genetic drift in present human populations: Survey of a Mediterranean region (La Alpujarra, South-East Spain).
This paper presents information on the opportunity for genetic drift in La Alpujarra, a rural population of the Spanish Mediterranean. This region is characterized by its historical isolation. The analyses were based on a survey of 45% of the population. The Effective Population Size (NE = 1986), the Effective Migration Rate (ME = 12.4) and the Coefficient of Breeding Isolation (CBI = 246.2) of Lasker & Kaplan (1964) were calculated. The value of the latter index indicates that genetic drift in the Alpujarrenian population is negligible at present because of the cessation of reproductive isolation due to the development of communication networks.
English - pp. 359-364.
A. Gil-Frias and F. Luna, Departamento Biología Animal I (Antropología), Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
(SPAIN, ISOLATE, POPULATION GENETICS, GENETIC DRIFT.)
*****
00.55.6 - ESTEBANEZ, Pilar; ZUNZUNEGUI, Ma. Victoria; AGUILAR, Ma. Dolores; COLOMAS, Concha; RUA-FIGUEROA, Milagrosa; FITCH, Kathy; GRANT, Jonathan; SARASQUETA, Cristina; NÁJERA, Rafael.
A Demographic and Health Survey of Spanish female sex workers: HIV prevalence and associated risk factors.
In order to examine the prevalence of HIV infection and associated risk factors amongst Spanish female prostitutes a multicentre (n = 22) cross-sectional study was conducted between November 1989 and January 1991. Data collected included socioeconomic characteristics, sexual behaviour and health status together with blood samples. A total of 1633 prostitutes were recruited into the study. Of these, 1433 (87.8%) consented to blood samples being taken and 180 (12.6%) were HIV positive. HIV seroprevalence was 54.7% for intravenous drug users (IVDUs) versus 3.7% for non-IVDUs. Previous imprisonment, hepatitis B and a partner who was an IVDU were significant predictors of HIV infection according to multivariate logistic regression models.
English - pp. 365-379.
P. Estébanez, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, U.K.
(SPAIN, DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEYS, AIDS, PROSTITUTION, EPIDEMIOLOGY.)
*****
00.55.7 - MWAGENI, Eleuther A.; ANKOMAH, Augustine; POWELL, Richard A.
Attitudes of men towards family planning in Mbeya region: A rural-urban comparison of qualitative data.
Family planning programmes in Tanzania date back to the 1950s. By the early 1990s, however, only 5-10% of women of childbearing age used contraceptives in the country. Low contraceptive prevalence in Tanzania is reportedly attributable to men's opposition to family planning. This paper employs focus groups to explore the role of Tanzanian men in family planning. More specifically, it presents a rural-urban comparison of the attitudes of men in Mbeya region, Tanzania, to family size preference, sex composition, partners' communication on family planning matters and contraceptive behaviour. Findings indicate that men express positive attitudes towards fertility-regulating methods. There is, moreover, little rural-urban variation in male attitudes towards family planning in the study area. Possible reasons for this normative convergence (including structural similarities and rural-urban migration between the two communities) are discussed.
English - pp. 381-392.
E. A. Mwageni, Development Studies Institute, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
(TANZANIA, MEN, ATTITUDE, FAMILY PLANNING, RURAL-URBAN DIFFERENTIALS.)
*****
00.55.8 - GORBACH, Pamina M.; KHANH HOA, Dao T.; TSUI, Amy; QUY NHAN, Vu.
Reproduction, risk and reality: Family planning and reproductive health in Northern Vietnam.
In collaboration with the National Committee for Population and Family Planning, a study was conducted in 1994 in two Vietnamese communes to provide community level information on women's reproductive health and behaviours. A survey of 504 rural and 523 urban women collected five-year histories of reproduction, contraception, abortion and symptoms of Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI). This analysis focuses on the relationships between women's individual characteristics, use of family planning and abortion, and reported RTI symptoms. The findings reveal that IUDs do not raise women's likelihood of experiencing RTI symptoms in either commune. A recent abortion, however, strongly increases women's likelihood of having RTI symptoms in the rural commune, while low socioeconomic status is associated with RTI symptoms in the urban commune.
English - pp. 393-409.
P. M. Gorbach, Department of Maternal and Child Health, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, U.S.A.
(VIET NAM, FAMILY PLANNING, CONTRACEPTION, IUD, INDUCED ABORTION, INFECTION, FEMALE GENITALIA.)
*****
00.55.9 - UMEZAKI, Masahiro; OHTSUKA, Ryutaro.
Impact of rural-urban migration on fertility: A population ecology analysis in the Kombio, Papua New Guinea.
The Anjangmui dialect group of the Kombio in Papua New Guinea has experienced a rapid increase in rural-urban migration since European contact commenced in the 1930s. Population ecology analyses of birth and migration histories for 240 Anjangmui women showed a higher total marital fertility rate in the cohort born in 1940-59 than that born in 1920-39. A decline in the age at menarche for nutritional reasons, and reduction in the birth interval for behavioural reasons, may explain the fertility difference between cohorts. Comparison of age-specific marital fertility rates between migrants in urban areas and non-migrants in rural areas revealed higher rates among migrants in the 15-19 and 20-24 year age groups, but lower rates in the 25-29 year or older age groups; the total marital fertility rate for migrants was lower than that for non-migrants. The differences may be attributable to the different influences of birth control practices on fertility reduction between the migrants in urban areas and non-migrants in rural areas. It is suggested that rural-urban migration in the Anjangmui during the post-contact period has had the effect of reducing fertility in the population as a whole.
English - pp. 411-422.
M. Umezaki and R. Ohtsuka, Department of Human Ecology, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan.
(PAPUA NEW GUINEA, LINGUISTIC GROUPS, HUMAN ECOLOGY, RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION, FERTILITY DETERMINANTS, LEGITIMATE FERTILITY.)
*****
55 JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE, October 1998, Vol. 30, N° 4
00.55.10 - BANKOLE, Akinrinola; WESTOFF, Charles.
The consistency and validity of reproductive attitudes: Evidence from Morocco.
Information on reproductive attitudes is now routinely collected in fertility surveys in developing countries, and has become very important for understanding fertility behaviour. The quality of this information, however, is rarely assessed, partly due to lack of necessary data. In this paper, the recently completed panel survey in Morocco by the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) was used to investigate the consistency of reporting of ideal number of children, reproductive intentions and the planning status of the last birth. The validity of reproductive intentions for subsequent fertility behaviour was also examined. The findings indicate that the three measures of reproductive attitudes are subject to different degrees of measurement error. The measure of reproductive intentions is the most consistent of the three, followed by ideal number of children. The latter is much more consistent at the aggregate level than at the individual level. The reliability of the planning status of the last birth is marred, mainly by an unwanted child being reclassified as "wanted" with time since the birth of the child. The reproductive intentions of women were also found to be positively related to their subsequent fertility.
English - pp. 439-455.
A. Bankole, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 120 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, U.S.A.
(MOROCCO, DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEYS, ATTITUDE, IDEAL FAMILY SIZE, DESIRED FAMILY SIZE, QUALITY OF DATA.)
*****
The ecology of low natural fertility in Ladakh.
The existence of very low rates of fertility among non-contracepting human populations has intrigued researchers in demography and reproductive ecology. Long inter-birth intervals, driven primarily by the lactational amenorrhoea associated with breast-feeding, have been shown to be important determinants of low natural fertility in several populations. Other reports have suggested that sterility brought about by sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) might also explain low fertility in some populations, especially in Africa. This report presents an analysis of 1981 Indian census data that documents low natural fertility in Ladakh, a high-altitude region of the Himalaya in north India. In Ladakh, there is evidence for low rates of marriage among women that may be attributable to the practice of polyandry, but also high rates of primary and secondary sterility within marriage, resulting in low completed parities for post-reproductive age married women. Age-specific fertility rates derived from the number of current births are also unexpectedly low. Hypotheses to explain very low fertility in Ladakh are considered from among the likely proximate determinants and evaluated using two supplementary sources of information derived from fieldwork in Ladakh in the early 1990s. The most likely explanations for low marital fertility include sterility from STDs, high rates of fetal loss, and possibly nutritional contraints on ovarian hormone status.
English - pp. 457-480.
A. S. Wiley, Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, U.S.A.
(INDIA, REGIONS, NATURAL FERTILITY, LOW FERTILITY ZONES, FERTILITY DETERMINANTS.)
*****
Infant and young child feeding practices among African pastoralists: The Datoga of Tanzania.
Breast-feeding and weaning practices were observed for a cohort of 81 children under 3 years of age in the context of a longitudinal study of social, ecological and nutritional factors affecting growth in a semi-nomadic population of pastoralists in northern Tanzania (WaDatoga of Mbulu District). The adequacy of indigenous infant and young child feeding practices was assessed in relation to current international recommendations. Objectives were to provide baseline data for future investigations of any changes in young child feeding practices which accompany population shifts towards settlement and non-pastoral modes of subsistence, and to improve understanding of the strengths and limitations of indigenous feeding practices in this type of population. It was found that while breast-feeding was universally initiated, other aspects of young child feeding practices do not meet current international recommendations. Prelacteal feeds are commonly used, supplementary feeding with non-human milks usually occurs before 4 months of age, use of solid foods normally begins later than 6 months, and breast-feeding does not continue until 2 years of age for the majority of children. The data have implications for the design of breast-feeding promotion and improved weaning food interventions among African pastoralists.
English - pp. 481-499.
D. W. Sellen, Department of Anthropology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, U.K.
(TANZANIA, BREAST FEEDING, WEANING, INFANT FEEDING, SEMI-NOMADS.)
*****
00.55.13 - EGGLESTON, Elizabeth.
Use of family planning at first sexual intercourse among young adults in Ecuador.
The purpose of this study was to assess factors associated with the use of family planning at first sexual intercourse among young adults aged 15 to 24 in urban Ecuador. The study population consisted of 1443 young adults (494 females and 949 males) in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil, interviewed by the 1988 Ecuador Young Adult Reproductive Health Survey, who reported having experienced consensual sexual intercourse. Approximately 11% of females and 15% of males reported using contraception at first intercourse. Binary logistic regression was performed to assess jointly the effect of multiple factors on contraceptive use at first intercourse. The regression model was first run on the entire study population and then separately for males and females. In the overall population, the following variables were significantly related to using family planning at first sex: being male; being from Guayaquil; older age; father's completion of secondary school. Having lost one's virginity to a prostitute was significantly associated with non-use of family planning. Males were 3.6 times more likely than females to use family planning during their first sexual intercourse. For each year older a young adult was at first sex, his or her odds of using family planning was multiplied by a factor of 1.3. Twenty-eight per cent of males in this study experienced their first sexual intercourse with a prostitute, and these young men were highly unlikely to use family planning. A male who experienced first intercourse with his girlfriend was more than five times as likely to use contraception than a male who lost his virginity to a prostitute.
English - pp. 501-510.
E. Eggleston, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, U.S.A.
(ECUADOR, YOUTH, PREMARITAL SEX BEHAVIOUR, CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE, SEX DIFFERENTIALS.)
*****
00.55.14 - BLANCHARD, Ray; ZUCKER, Kenneth J.; SIEGELMAN, Marvin; DICKEY, Robert; KLASSEN, Philip.
The relation of birth order to sexual orientation in men and women.
Homosexual men have a higher mean birth order than do heterosexual men, primarily because they have a greater number of older brothers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the same difference occurs in homosexual vs heterosexual women. The probands were 964 homosexual and heterosexual, male and female volunteers, from whom birth order data were collected with self-administered questionnaires. The homosexual men had more older brothers than the heterosexual men, but they did not have more older sisters, younger brothers, or younger sisters. The homosexual women did not differ from the heterosexual women with regard to any class of sibling. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the high birth order of homosexual men reflects the progressive immunization of certain mothers to H-Y antigen by succeeding male fetuses, and the increasing effects of H-Y antibodies on sexual differentiation of the brain in succeeding male fetuses.
English - pp. 511-519.
R. Blanchard, K. J. Zucker, M. Siegelman, R. Dickey and P. Klassen, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
(BIOLOGY, BIRTH ORDER, HOMOSEXUALITY, SEX DIFFERENTIALS.)
*****
00.55.15 - VIENNA, A.; DE STEFANO, G. F.; BASTIANINI, A.; BIONDI, G.
Biodemography in Siena, Italy.
Data were obtained on surnames of the parents and places of birth of the parents and grandparents of children in Siena, Italy. Isonymy and total inbreeding coefficient, and their random and non-random components, are 0.005, 0.00125, 0.00019 and 0.00106, respectively. Isonymy and inbreeding figures are similar to those of other medium-sized Italian towns, while higher values have been reported for Italian villages and Italian ethnic minorities. City endogamy, and endogamy of Contrada for grandparents have the same values (44.1 and 44.8%, respectively), but for parents, endogamy of Contrada is lower than city endogamy (15.2 and 33.4%, respectively). The difference between the extent of Contrada endogamy expected at random and observed in the parents' generation does not seem to affect the genetic structure of the present population. However, the bulk of marriage migration (more than 70%) is short range, with people coming from Tuscany. There is no statistical difference in marital migration between males and females.
English - pp. 521-528.
A. Vienna and G. F. De Stefano, Dipartimento di Biologia, Universitŕ degli Studi di Roma " Tor Vergata ", Rome, Italy.
(ITALY, REGIONS, CITIES, POPULATION GENETICS, SURNAME, ENDOGAMY, MIGRATION.)
*****
Back to Home page