A model of the determinants in married women of sterilization method choice

A model for predicting sterilization method selection is constructed on the basis of hypotheses about 1. the relationship between the fertility termination, sterilization, and method selection decisions and 2. the influence of substantive, processual, and contextual factors in those decisions. The model is found to have an acceptably good fit to data from almost five hundred women in married couples selecting either tubal ligation or vasectomy. A number of interesting dynamic pathways leading to method selection are observed. Some weaknesses in the model are discussed. It is desirable that further confirmation and elaboration of the model using longitudinal and husband-wife data be undertaken.This paper is based on a study funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, Center for Population Research, Grant Number 13459.     

A model for estimating fecundability of the currently married woman from the data on her susceptibility status—A cohort approach

A probability model to estimate fecundability of a married woman has been proposed under some mild assumptions. It utilises the knowledge on the susceptibility status of the married women (including menstruation, menopause, pregnancy and amenorrhea) and therefore sets another approach for estimating fecundability. In addition, it is capable of predicting the parity, proportion of foetal losses, fecundability and incidence of secondary sterility. The problem of finding out the consistent estimates of the parameters in the distribution is discussed in section 4. For illustra-tion, the model is applied to a set of simulated data after simplifying many assumptions of the model     

A Multistate model of fecundability and sterility

This paper develops a multistate hazards model for estimating fecundability and sterility from data on waiting times to conception. Important features of the model include separate sterile and nonsterile states, a distinction between preexisting sterility and sterility that begins after initiation of exposure, and log-normally distributed fecundability among nonsterile couples. Application of the model to data on first birth intervals from Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and the Amish shows that heterogeneity in fecundability is statistically significant at most ages, but that preexisting sterility and new sterility are unimportant before age 40. These results suggest that sterility may not be an important determinant of natural fertility until later reproductive ages.     

Timing of the transition to nonvirginity among unmarried adolescent women

This article focuses on differences between teenagers who became sexually active in early adolescence (15 or younger) and those who did so in late adolescence (16–19). It reviews research on adolescent sexual behavior and summarizes findings on factors associated with adolescent coitus. The few findings on the meaning of first coitus are also noted. A study which used a sample of already-pregnant adolescents is presented in detail. While few differences between those who first had coitus during early adolescence and those who had it later were significant, most were in the predicted direction, and none were contrary to the hypotheses. A major significant difference concerned the relationship between sex and love; those who found the two related tended to start their sexual careers later than those who did not. Policy implications of research findings are discussed, especially those relevant to sex education.This research was supported in part by Grant No. HD 11099 NICHD, and in part by Grant No. 78-499, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.This article is a revision of a paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, August 26, 1980, New York, N.Y.     

Changes in motivation for parenthood among young married couples

The perceived satisfactions, costs, and overall motivation associated with having a first or second child was assessed at two time points for 507 married couples. Motivation associated with parenthood varied systematically over time and was influenced by attainment of cultural fertility norms and the impact of a birth. Among those who experienced a birth between Times 1 and 2, couples who already had a child showed a much greater drop in motivation for a future child than did initially childless couples. Husbands perceived lower costs associated with an additional child than did wives.This research was supported by NICHD Center for Population Research Contract No. HD 52807 and Research Scientist Development Award No. AA00002 from NIAAA to the author. The important contributions of Philip Bardsley to this research and to earlier drafts of this paper are gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are also due to Tom Day and Linda Moody Chilingar for their data analytic and statistical skills and to Cathey Heron for her assistance throughout the course of this project.     

Condom use among married and cohabiting women and its implications for HIV infection in Mahikeng,South Africa

Married and cohabiting women have been neglected in the promotion of condoms as the most effective prevention method of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV. As a result, HIV prevalence is increasing in this population group in high HIV prevalence settings. The study assesses the prevalence of and identifies the predictors of consistent use of male condoms among married and cohabiting women, and examines its implications for HIV transmission. The data used were obtained from a cross-sectional survey on sexual and reproductive health conducted among women aged 18–49 years of age in Mahikeng Local Municipality in 2012 using mixed methods. A structured questionnaire and in-depth interview guide were used to collect quantitative data from 568 and qualitative data from 33 married or cohabiting women. The data were analysed using logistic regression and thematic content analysis methods. The results show that only 16.2% of the women consistently used condoms. Women having no and 1–2 surviving children, educated women, women in relationships in which most sexual decisions were jointly made with husbands/partners, women having high risk perceptions of STIs and HIV infection and women who negotiate condom use with and know the HIV status of their husbands/partners were significantly more likely to have consistently used condoms. However, women who perceived that condoms reduce sexual pleasure, feared they would be blamed for infidelity by husbands/partners, trusted that their husbands/partners were faithful and feared condoms could lead to relationship instability used condoms inconsistently. We conclude that the prevalence of consistent use of condoms by married and cohabiting women in the study is low, indicating that promotion of condoms among married or cohabiting women is neglected, which could increase the risk of HIV transmission. Based on our findings, we recommend the review of condom programmes with a view to targeting married or cohabiting couples as an important group for condom promotion and uptake.     

A state-based regression model for estimating substate life expectancy

Life expectancy is an important indicator of the level of mortality in a population. However, the conventional way of calculating life expectancy--constructing a life table--has rigorous data requirements. As a consequence, life expectancy data are not usually available for substate areas. In this article, a regression model for estimating life expectancy is constructed, using state-level data, and is tested against two sets of 1980 life expectancy data: (1) a nationwide sample of metropolitan areas and (2) selected cities, their suburbs, and rural counties in Ohio. An additional test shows the sensitivity of the model's accuracy to errors in one of its input data elements. The results suggest that the model should be given serious consideration for generating life expectancy estimates for substate areas.     

A methodology for identifying married couples in medicare data: Mortality, morbidity, and health care use among the married elderly

Wedescribe a method for the development of cohorts of up to three quarters of the 14 million married couples aged 65 and over in the United States. The health care experiences, illness histories, and mortality of these identified couples can be assessed longitudinally using Medicare data. We summarize strengths and limitations of using data from Medicare administrative records for the study of marriage, health, and aging. We illustrate the method by demonstrating substantial differences in survival in a cohort of hospice patients as a function of not only the patient's own diagnosis and illness burden but also the patient's spouse's illness burden.     

Sex-role attitudes and employment status as predictors of perceived life satisfaction among married women in Korea

The focus of this exploratory study is on reexamining the relationship between sex role attitudes and the employment status of married women in Korea, and exploring the nature and extent of women's sex role attitudes and employment status on their life satisfaction (marriage, family, work). Multicluster sampling was used to select 418 women from the city of Seoul. The Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) (Spence and Helmreich) was used to measure the concept of sex role attitudes. Life satisfaction was measured by 3 questions: ALLSAT, a general feeling; IGA for the general effect based on Osgood's semantic differential scales; and work status and voluntariness. Background characteristics are given. The results revealed that there was an independent relationship between sex role attitudes and employment status. Based on willingness to work groups (4), those who worked involuntarily had the most conservative sex role attitudes, and those involuntarily nonworking had the most liberal attitudes. When education background was controlled for, there were no significant differences between working and nonworking women and sex role attitudes. There was little relationship observed between sex role attitudes and overall satisfaction. When controlling for employment status, however, sex role attitudes and the relationship to work satisfaction was statistically significant among fulltime housewives, who had conservative attitudes. In fact, fulltime housewives reported greater satisfaction with their role as homemaker than those with liberal sex role attitudes. Women's attitudes and their actual roles has a greater influence on women's life satisfaction than sex role attitudes. Overall, working women are more satisfied with work and overall life than are nonworking women, when the mean satisfaction scored all 6 indicators are used in a 1 way analysis of variance. There were no significant differences in satisfaction with marriage or family life between working and nonworking women. When the intervening variable willingness to work is introduced, this plus employment status affects life satisfaction. The discrepancy between women's sex role attitudes and their work status produces the greatest dissatisfaction. The multiple regression of background variables affecting sex role attitudes shows that parent's encouragement for a woman to work has the strongest effect. Educational attainment has a positive effect on sex role attitudes, and among less well education has a negative effect and positive effect among those well educated, Husband's income is significantly higher than that for working women. Another model expressing reciprocal relations between marriage, family and work satisfaction was generated. Improvements are suggested for future research.     

Never married older women: The life experience

Many stereotypes influence attitudes toward never-married women. There is very little existing data on their actual life experiences and how they have handled singlehood over a lifetime. In addition, it is not known if they are subject to some of the common stereotypes of old age. This paper examines and analyses these issues by reporting on in-depth interviews with 15 never-married women who were 80 years of age and over. Although a great diversity was found, most of these women had led satisfying lives and were satisfied with relationships with family members and friends. In addition, they were able to handle the diminishments of age positively and realistically.     

International migration and labor force participation of married women

A focal issue in international immigration research has been immigration adaptation and assimilation and especially absorption and integration of immigrants into labor force roles. Nevertheless, such research has largely been focused on immigrant men, neglecting the systematic examination of labor force participation among immigrant women. This research is focused on the correlates of economic activity among immigrant and native born Jewish, urban, married females aged 18–54 in Israel. The specific objectives of the investigation are: (1) the impact of education, socioeconomic status, familial child care burdens, and ethnic background on the economic activity of native-born and immigrant, married women; and (2) to evaluate the extent to which the above patterns vary by veterancy and age. The data for this analysis are drawn from Israel's quarterly labor force survey of 6,000 families for 1970 and 1971. Education, socioeconomic status, ethnic origin, and child care burden were all found to have some effect on women's labor force participation; however, the pattern of effect was different for younger and older women and varied by veterancy status. Indications can be found in the data that age at immigration, or in other words the point in the women's life cycle at which immigration occurs, makes a difference in the type and strength of effect of immigration on labor force participation.Requests for reprints should be directed to Moshe Hartman, Department of Sociology, Population Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322.     

An exponential model of female sterility

It is suggested that a useful component of a fertility simulation would be proportions of females sterile by age. Data on this phenomenon are rather limited, but they indicate that proportional sterility may not easily be described by a simple function. We propose that rates of becoming sterile may be adequately described by an exponential function utilizing proper parameter values. Such exponential-model rates form the basis for computation of a fecundity decrement table presented in this paper. Sterility proportions from the table are compared to some empirical data.     

Intimate partner violence and the spatial pattern of maternal healthcare services utilization among parous married women in northern Nigeria

Journal of Population Research - The low uptake of maternal healthcare services (MHS) in Nigeria is implicated in the country’s poor maternal health outcomes. In northern Nigeria where these...     

Contraceptive behavior among unmarried young women: A theoretical framework for research

Adoption of the most effective methods of contraception requires individual decision-making and negotiation with contraceptive providers. In order to take account of both behavioral elements, a two-dimensional framework for understanding contraceptive adoption and continuation by unmarried young is proposed, incorporating a "social-psychological model" of individual decision-making and an "interpersonal model" of factors affecting provider-client interaction. The social-psychological model is based on an earlier value-expectancy theory of behavior motivation as applied to health-related behaviors. The interpersonal model is derived from conflict-bargaining perspectives on professional-client interaction; it is suggested that expectations for this interaction are based on a limited number of internalized "models": the "professional"; the "bureaucratic"; the "commercial"; and the "parental." Insofar as client and professional "models" disagree, communication may break down and client understanding and/or acceptance of provider advice cannot be assured. The components of the social-psychological and interpersonal models are described in detail, and a combined framework is proposed.     

A census-based method for estimating adult mortality

Abstract A simple method is presented for converting an age distribution in any closed population into the stationary population corresponding to its current mortality conditions. The conversion only requires a set of age-specific growth rates, which will normally be available from successive censuses. From the stationary population, any life table mortality measure of interest can be computed. The index most robust to normal data errors in developing countries is life expectancy, and the paper focuses on its calculation. The sensitivity of results to various forms of data error is considered, and procedures are proposed for removing errors resulting from differential census coverage completeness and from age misstatement at older ages. Applications of the procedures are made to data from Sweden, India and South Korea. Because of the absence of a radix, estimation of life expectancy usually will begin at the fifth birthday.     

Tax reform,population ageing and the changing labour supply behaviour of married women

The burden of financing retirement incomes in an ageing population is predicted to rise sharply in future decades. This paper investigates the effects of reforms to the Australian tax-benefit system involving a greater reliance on proportional taxation for raising revenue and a more targeted welfare system for cutting government expenditure, in order to reduce expected budget deficits. Estimates of changes in net incomes and hours of work suggest that reforms of this kind shift the tax burden to lower and middle income households with a second earner and that they can have counter-productive labour supply effects. The study explores the impact of projected increases in female work force participation and illustrates the importance of shifts in the labour supply of married women in predicting the fiscal effects of demographic change.I wish to thank the discussants of this paper, Sijbren Cnossen and Hiromitsu Ishi, for their detailed and constructive comments which have been most helpful in revising the paper. Thanks are also due to John Buchanan, Glenn Jones, John McCallum and Elizabeth Savage for their comments and suggestions.This research has been supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council.     

Correct credit distribution: A model for sharing credit among coauthors

On the basis of some assumptions (e.g. Minimum and Maximum Contribution Scores of authors) a simple equation is introduced for calculating individual contribution scores of co-authors of multi-authored papers. The calculated Corrected Contribution Scores are in good agreement with the data obtained empirically, earlier. It is suggested that individual percentage contributions should be declared by the co-authors in the by-line of papers.     

A trichotomic segmentation approach for estimating composite indicators

Composite indicators (CIs) are commonly used for benchmarking of countries over the years, summarizing in a single measurement, complex social, economic, environmental etc. concepts by involving several thematically related sub-indicators. When estimating  CIs and for a few specific countries, it is possible to have a strong indication and belief about their performance, prior to obtaining their scores. Based on that, a number of countries are likely to occupy the top-ranking positions; some will remain at the bottom list, while others may range in intermediate places. This initial preference information imposes a trichotomic segmentation that divides the countries under assessment into categories of superior, inferior and of ambiguous future performance. In this paper, we introduce the trichotomic segmentation as initial preference information to estimate the values of the CIs. We build on the popular Benefit of the Doubt (BoD) method with common weights and develop a two-goal linear programming model, that next to the evaluation of the common weights for the sub-indicators, estimates cut-off points for the CI values that distinguish the superior and inferior countries. The proposed model maintains the advantages of the common variable weighting and produces scores that induce better discrimination of the countries, having also a significant correlation with the original CI scores. The proposed methodology is applied to reassess the Digital Economy and the Society Index.

     

A vital statistics-based procedure for estimating conception rates

A method for estimating conception rates, using vital statistics data, is developed and applied to data on five-year age groups of California women for 1971. The approach is deterministic and allocates total exposure time to the known pregnancy outcomes of live birth, spontaneous abortion, and induced abortion. The population at risk is defined to exclude women who are known to be sterile or sexually inactive. Early fetal loss, premarital conception, and contraceptive use are taken into account. Estimates are made of the fecundability which would obtain ifno contraception were used.