Biological Factors and Multiple Regression Analysis for Human Fertility among Four Different Endogamous Populations of Coastal Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Multiple regression analysis was done to examine the impact of the biological factors on fertility. This paper focuses on the biological factors on human fertility. Here fertility is used as the number of children ever born for a woman. This variable is easily measurable. The entire set of variables related to fertility are classified into the important biological factors influencing the fertility are age at marriage, age at menarche, age at first conception and age at last conception. To examine the impact of the factors on fertility by multiple regression analysis and the effect of each group on fertility is discussed separately and collectively. The resultant zero order correlation coefficients indicate that there is no serious problem of multicollinearity in estimated regression model. In all the four population groups, the R2 values are statistically significant which indicates that all the explanatory variables considered in the model together explain 63% of the variation in fertility among Kapu population, 55% among Settibalijas, 50% among Paki’s and 67% among Yerukala population.