Actual Number Of Children Research Articles

Religion and fertility ideals, intentions and behaviour: a comparative study of European countries

European demographers rarely study religion as a determinant of contemporary demographic behaviour. One reason could be the secularisation observed in European countries, implying that the effect of religiosity has been diminishing. This paper aims to show that religion can have an important impact on ideals, intentions and behaviour related to fertility. First we discuss recent trends in religiosity. We base our ensuing hypotheses on three deliberations why religion may have a bearing on fertility: importance of religious teaching, effect of social capital and function of religion to decrease uncertainty. Using FFS data we examine the influence of several measures of religiosity on the ideal number of children and intentions to have a second and third child, as well as on the expected and actual number of children. We find that all measures of religiosity are in general related to a higher ideal number of children, higher odds to intend another child and higher expected and actual number of children. Participation in religious services turns out to be slightly more salient than affiliation and self-assessed religiosity. We also discover that the effect of religion on ideals is more pronounced than its effect on intentions. Ideals stay further away from behaviour than intentions do and hence the influence of religion is intermediated by other social systems.

High-K Strategy Scale: A Measure of the High-K Independent Criterion of Fitness

The present study aimed at testing whether factors documented in the literature as being indicators of a high-K reproductive strategy have effects on fitness in extant humans. A 26-item High-K Strategy Scale comprising these factors was developed and tested on 250 respondents. Items tapping into health and attractiveness, upward mobility, social capital and risks consideration, were included in the scale. As expected, the scale showed a significant correlation with perceived offspring quality and a weak, but significant association with actual number of children. The scale had a high reliability coefficient (Cronbach's Alpha = .92). Expected correlations were found between the scale and number of medical diagnoses, education, perceived social support, and number of previous marriages, strengthening the scale's construct validity. Implications of the results are discussed.

Associates of self-reported fertility status and infertility treatment-seeking in a rural district of Malawi

This study examines the demographic, fertility preference, health/infection and behavioural factors associated with self-reported fertility problems and infertility treatment-seeking in a rural district of Malawi. Data come from a population-based survey of 678 women and 362 men. Having a higher ideal number of children than actual number of children, i.e. a 'child deficit', is highly associated with women's reported fertility impairment and treatment-seeking. Other factors associated with women's infertility treatment-seeking are being educated and reporting infertility in self or spouse. In contrast, being in a polygamous union, having exchanged money or goods for sex, and having multiple sex partners are significantly associated with men's reported fertility impairment. Significant factors associated with men's infertility treatment-seeking are having no education, having a long waiting time to pregnancy and having a 'child deficit'. There is a sex difference in which factors are associated with reported fertility impairment. Fertility preference variables are more often significantly related to women's reported fertility impairment, whereas sexual behaviours are more often significantly related to men's reported fertility impairment.

Demographic Study of Gujjars of Delhi: III. Fertility Preferences

Fertility preferences are indicators of general attitudes and possible future course of fertility. Also the acceptance of family planning is closely dependent on it. The present study was conducted keeping this in mind thereby to know about fertility preferences among Gujjar women residing in Delhi. The data for present study was collected by interviewing ever-married Gujjar women aged 15-49 years from a sample of 558 households. Among them there is a gap between their ideal and actual fertility experience. With the increase in the number of children and maternal age the desire to have another child drops rapidly. Among all the women average number of children considered ideal is lower than the average actual number of children. However they prefer more sons than daughters and consider that there should be at least one male child in the family revealing preference for son. The degree of dependence for deciding the family size among Gujjars women is substantially high. (authors)

In Tanzania, Ideal Family Size Closely Resembles Actual Number of Children

This report presents findings from an analysis of 1996 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey data. Population is expected to reach 33 million by the year 2000. In 1996 89% of men and 84% of women knew at least one modern method of contraception. Women had widespread knowledge of the pill injectable and condom. Men were familiar with the condom the pill and female sterilization. 23% of women and 26% of men had ever used a modern method. 12% of women currently used a modern method. Most women used the pill followed by the injectable. 33% of nonusers expected to use contraception in the next year. 19% of women had unmet need for contraception. The total fertility rate among women aged 15-49 years was 5.8 lifetime births/woman. Fertility was higher among rural and uneducated women. 12% of women aged 15-19 years had a first birth. Women aged 25-49 years had a median marriage age of 18.2 years. 60% of women were married; 7% were cohabiting; and 10% were widowed divorced or separated. The median age of first intercourse was 16.7 years for women aged 25-49 years and 18.1 years for men aged 25-59 years. Women desired 5.5 children while men desired 5.9. Mens ideal family size was higher than womens regardless of demographic characteristics. Both uneducated men and women had higher ideals. 27% of women and 14% of men desired a stop to childbearing. Men on the mainland were 5 times more likely to desire a stop to childbearing. Infant mortality was 88 deaths/1000 live births; child mortality was 137/1000. 18% of women were circumcised. Knowledge of AIDS was widespread.

Yemen 1991/92: Results from the Demographic and Maternal and Child Health Survey

The results of the Yemen Demographic and Health Survey for 1991-92 are given in table form. The sample included 12,836 households and 5687 ever married women 15-49 years old and 6715 children under five years old. Illiteracy among ever married women was 94.5% in rural and 66.2% in urban areas. 2.7% in urban and 0.7% of ever married women in rural areas were literate. The total fertility rate was 7.7 children per woman during 1989-91 (8.2 in rural and 5.6 in urban areas and 8.1 among illiterates and 3.5 among women with at least a primary education). Births were highest among women 20-24 years old (286 births per 1000 women per year). The mean number of desired children increased with increasing age and corresponded well with the actual number of children ever born. 35.0% desired to stop childbearing. Desire to stop childbearing was greatest among women with 7 or more children. 48.0% desired another child at the time of the survey. Desire was greatest among women with no children. 0.9% were sterilized. 4.0% reported infecundity. 6.1% used modern methods of contraception. The public sector had the most acceptors of contraception, but private facilities were also prominent sources of supply, particularly for the pill. 53.2% knew one modern method. Among never users, 76.8% did not intend to use contraception in the future, and 1.5% intended to use a method later. The most prominent reason for nonuse was lack of knowledge (23.3%) followed by husband's opposition (15.9%) and religious prohibition (15.3%). The median age at first birth was 20.4 years. Infant mortality declined to 83 during 1987-91. 63.4% of children 12-23 months old were ever vaccinated. 34.4% of children under 5 years old had had a case of diarrhea in the 2 weeks preceding the survey. 53.2% of births were assisted by a relative or friend. 18.6% were assisted by a traditional birth attendant, and 11.0% were assisted by a doctor.

Assessing the correlates of desired family size in Shaanxi, China.

This exploratory analysis of factors associated with Chinese women's fertility desires uses data on married women between the ages of 18 and 35 who live in Shaanxi Province, China. Analyses using an economic framework found that both rural and urban couples who intended to sign, or who had already signed, the one-child certificate reported wanting significantly fewer children. However, in rural areas (where 80 per cent of the provincial population lives), education level, living arrangements, participation in an arranged marriage, attitudes regarding the ideal age for marriage, and knowledge of the reasons for the government's fertility policies appear to play a relatively larger role in shaping fertility preferences.

Dominican Republic 1991: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey

Results of a demographic and health survey conducted in the Dominican Republic in 1986 are illustrated. Data were collected in a nationally representative survey from 7155 households and complete interviews were conducted with 7649 women aged 15-49. Summary statistics are presented for: general population characteristics; socioeconomic characteristics and distribution; fertility trends, differentials, and age-specific fertility; fertility preferences, including ideal and actual number of children, desire to stop childbearing, and planning status of births in last year; current contraceptive use, knowledge, and nonuse; nuptiality and exposure-to-conception status; postpartum variables; infant mortality; and health and nutritional status of children, including disease, prevention, and treatment factors, and anthropometric measures.

Epidemiology of Affective and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Epidemiologic studies in psychiatry in general, and child psychiatry in particular, represent a new focus. Certain disease entities in children and adolescents are better studied than others. Depression and anxiety of childhood seem to exemplify this statement. Depressive illness in childhood, although recently accepted in its full clinical implications, is a relatively well researched area with regard to epidemiology and prevalence. A number of factors have been identified as being influential such as age, race, socioeconomic status, sex, IQ, and source of information. Anxiety, however, still remains an area that is unexplored and not well researched. Very few studies have epidemiologically looked at the various types of anxiety and their prevalence in childhood and adolescence. Factors that further complicate this have been the relationships between anxiety and the normal developmental stages as well as the association between anxiety and depression. The various symptoms or subtypes of anxiety seem to be normal phenomena at different developmental stages. As a result, the identification of anxiety disorders, as they specifically influence children and adolescents, has been very much undervalued. Further research is needed to differentiate anxiety from depressive disorders and more specifically to distinguish among the different subtypes of anxiety disorders and to study their prevalence. It is only then that greater attention can be given to the course, prognosis, and treatment outcome of the anxiety disorders.

Effect of sex and reproductive history on the survival of patients with colorectal cancer

The survival rate of women with colorectal carcinoma is higher than that of men. This is true when censored survival rates are compared ( P = 0.0008) as well as when relative survival rates are utilized to compensate for the increased life expectancy of females. Women never pregnant ( n = 56) or women with no children ( n = 66) showed survival rates similar to men, but significantly different to women with one or more children. The actual number of children, however, did not correlate with survival rates.

Fetal alcohol syndrome: Behavioral teratology.

The fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of physical malformations observed in the offspring of women who drink alcohol during pregnancy. The most serious effect of in utero exposure to alcohol is mental retardation. Although the physical characteristics associated with the FAS have been attributed to the direct effects of alcohol, conditions secondary to alcohol intake (e.g., altered nutrition) cannot be eliminated as etiological factors in the impairment in cognitive function. Although animal models have been developed to study the question of direct versus indirect causation, there is little agreement in the results of these studies, and the methodology used leaves much to be desired in terms of adequate controls. Concern over the deleterious effects of alcohol on the developing fetus can be traced back to the time of Aristotle, who observed that drunken women often bore children who were feebleminded (Warner & Rosett, 1975). Although this observation has been rediscovered several times hence, most notably during England's gin epidemic of the 18th century (Warner & Rosett, 1975), it was not until the early 1970s that the relationship between prenatal exposure to alcohol and birth defects drew serious scientific and medical attention. Current findings suggest that prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated with a distinct pattern of congenital malformations that have collectively been termed the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Among the characteristics of this syndrome are intrauterine and postnatal growth deficiency, a distinctive pattern of physical malformations, including microcephaly, shortened palpebral fissures (the size of the eye opening), joint, limb, and cardiac anomalies, and behavioral/cognitive impairment such as fine motor dysfunction and mental retardation. Although the actual number of children born with the FAS is not known, recent estimates place the number at one to two live births per

Communications Channels and Family Planning in Pakistan

The influence of communication strategies used in the Pakistan family planning program on past and intended contraceptive use of ever-married women aged 20-49 was measured as part of the 1975 Pakistan Fertility Survey. For urban women 20-29 in whom family size is smaller than or equal to actual number of children born exposure to family planning messages on television and in newspapers and magazines was the variable most significantly related to ever-use of contraception. For urban women 35 and older contact with family planning personnel was the most important correlate of ever-use followed by radio messages. For younger rural women personnel contact was the only significant factor while both contact and radio exposure were significant for older rural women. No significant relationships were found between communication factors and future intent to use contraception for urban women in both age groups who reported never using birth control suggesting that mass media channels need to do more than simply create awareness of the possibility of family planning. For rural women in both age groups hearing about family planning on the radio was the main predictor of intent. In view of the generally positive associations between contraceptive use and communications channels it is concluded that these means can be used to a greater degree as motivational sources. Although most respondents had listened to the radio only half had heard family planning messages through this medium and only 29% reported contact with a family planning fieldworker. Unresolved by this study is the question of how much the family planning messages themselves influenced women and how much certain communication channels merely reflect socioeconomic status another indicator of contraceptive use.

Two and a half centuries of demographic history in a Bavarian village

Abstract A village genealogy containing family histories of couples married between 1692 and 1939 serves as the basis for a study of the demographic history of a Bavarian village. The past patterns of marriage, re-marriage, widowhood, illegitimacy, bridal pregnancy, marital fertility, family size, and birth intervals are examined. Both the age at marriage and illegitimacy increased and then declined during the nineteenth century, apparently in response to changes in restrictive marriage legislation. Differences in fertility for occupational groups were insignificant. Marital fertility remained extremely high before 1900 suggesting the absence of any substantial family limitation within marriage. A rise in marital fertility that occurred during the last half of the nineteenth century appears to result from a change in breast-feeding customs. The actual number of children surviving to maturity for most couples was kept quite low, however, through late marriage and high infant mortality. Only during the twentieth century are substantial declines in infant mortality and fertility evident.

FAMILY GROWTH AND FAMILY PLANNING IN A RURAL AREA IN KENYA

520 lying-in patients in 7 maternity wards (in 1 hospital and 6 health centers) in Nyeri District Kenya were interviewed about their knowledge and attitudes regarding family planning. 52% of the women were in their 20s while 17% were less than 20 and 31% were between 30 and 44; 15% were unmarried (55% of those between 15 and 19 years of age were single). The majority of the married women (60.4%) were wives of farmers. The patients had an average of 3.7 children although the ideal family size stated for the group was 5.1. There seemed to be a correlation between ideal family size and age as well as with actual number of children. The youngest age group had an average of 1.1 children and considered 4 the ideal number of children; the oldest groups 35-39 with 6.3 children and 40-44 with 7.1 children considered 5.7 and 7.3 the ideal number of children respectively. An inverse relation was found between the number of children and the percentage of women desiring more children. Less than 50% of the women with none to 5 children demonstrated any tendency toward child spacing. Results of the study suggest that ideal family size cannot be expected to predict actual future family size. Additionally level of education was insignificantly related to knowledge of or interest in family planning. The possibility that inclusion of family planning in school curricula might improve this situation was suggested.

Correspondence

A survey was made to determine the genetically significant dose to the population of the Netherlands from radiotherapeutic procedures for both non- malignant and malignant conditions. The total dose from both sources was estimated to be in the range of 4.1 to 7.1 mr/yr. The actual number of children born to the patients surveyed was 46% lower than the number expected for the average population. lt is pointed out that the number of children might be reduced by disease, or factors other than radiation exposure alone. (C.H.)

Premarital Sexual Behavior and Sex Codes of Conduct with Acquaintances, Friends, and Lovers

The following tentative conclusions can be drawn: 1. There is evidence that present mothers in general tend to value an ideal size varying in amount directly with socio-economic status. 2. In general there is a correspondence between ideal and actual plus planned number of children. However, such value-practice correspondence is a direct function of one's socio-economic status and planning status. 3. For the active and terminated fertility groups (those planning and those not planning to have more children) actual average size is inversely related to socio-economic status. This relationship results in discrepancies between ideal and actual which are greatest for the group not planning to have more children. 4. It is the younger mother, who is undecided whether or not to have more children, who tends to express values in direct relationship with her socio-economic status as measured by objective social variables, and at the same time this indecision takes place when the actual number of children is not only directly related to her status but also far below the expressed ideal.

Social and Psychological Factors Affecting Fertility. XXVII. Attitudes toward Restriction of Personal Freedom in Relation to Fertility Planning and Fertility

In a study on fertility control and small families it was found tha t data were unavailable to test the hypothesis that a feeling that children interfere with personal freedom motivates fertility control and small families. Only among couples who have remained childless does the desire to avoid restriction of personal freedom seem to have been a motivating factor. An alternative hypothesis was proven: Among couples with children a feeling of restriction develops from the difficulties and hardships experienced. Women seem to feel more restricted by children in all socioeconomic groups than do men. The feeling of restriction increases with unsuccessful fertility number of children and low socioeconomic status. Having 3 or more children correlated highly with feelings of personal restriction. It is speculated that the feeling of restriction experienced by couples of high socioeconomic status relates to different values regarding family building and not to economic difficulties. The factors that were experienced (lack of success with family planning actual number of children or the objective difficulties related to economics) were less important to the couples feelings than was the subjective interpretation of the experiences.

Yellow Fever Endemicity in West Africa, with Special Reference to Protection Tests

Yellow Fever Endemicity in West Africa, with Special Reference to Protection Tests