Frustrated fertility: a population paradox

This Bulletin examines the causes of subfecundity -- the diminished ability to reproduce -- and its effect today and in the past on the fertility, or actual reproductive performance, of individuals and, hence, populations. By definition, all real populations are subfecund since all experience some degree of involuntary biological factors affecting coitus, conception, or the ability to carry a conceptus to live birth which reduces their fecundity below the estimated biological population maximum of 15 children per woman. Affecting both men and women, these factors fall into 5 categories: genetic factors such as blood group incompatibilities and inherited sickle cell anemia or diabetes; psychopathology, including psychic stress and behavioral disorders (e.g., drug and alcohol abuse); infectious diseases such as gonorrhea, malaria, tuberculosis, and postabortion infection; malnutrrition, including the chronic undernutrition of the 3rd World and the overnutrition of developed societies; and hazards posed by increasing amounts of radiation and toxic chemicals in the environment. Reducing subfecundity requires improved living conditions, avoidance of or protection from known hazards, and adoption of medical advances which now can help 40 to 60% of subfecund couples. But even in the U.S. fertility would certainly rise among the 15% of couples now estimated to be involuntarily childless and the 10% who have fewer children than they want, and among disadvantaged groups, and teenagers.     

Negative Religious Rhetoric in the Lives of Black Cisgender Queer Emerging Adult Men: A Qualitative Analysis

Given the intersection of racial, religious, and sexual identities for Black queer populations, the current study examines sexuality-related religious rhetoric. Twenty Black cisgender queer men were recruited to participate in a qualitative interview. Using thematic analysis, the research team identified four themes: negative religious rhetoric, personal consequences of negative religious rhetoric, social consequences of negative religious rhetoric, and growth from negative religious rhetoric. Participants explained the pervasiveness of negative religious rhetoric within their churches and family structures. Men also conveyed how negative religious rhetoric frames societal ideologies around same-sex behavior, often condoning violence toward queer populations. Although men had negative experiences, participants articulated the importance of using oppression as a platform for growth. Black cisgender queer men are present within religious institutions; however, such negative religious rhetoric may negatively affect their mental and physical health. Researchers, clinicians, and clergy should consider the ways negative religious rhetoric marginalizes queer populations.     

Directional mixture models and optimal estimation of the mixing density

The authors develop consistent nonparametric estimation techniques for the directional mixing density. Classical spherical harmonics are used to adapt Euclidean techniques to this directional environment. Minimax rates of convergence are obtained for rotation ally invariant densities verifying various smoothness conditions. It is found that the differences in smoothness between the Laplace, the Gaussian and the von Mises‐Fisher distributions lead to contrasting inferential conclusions.     

Analyzing birth intervals: Implications for demographic theory and data collection

In the last decade, the study of birth intervals has been greatly facilitated by a rapid expansion in data availability and by improvements in analytical techniques. Unfortunately, the results emerging from individual level, empirical studies of birth interval dynamics do not correspond with the predictions of standard demographic theory. This paper reviews a series of individual level studies that find substantial socioeconomic variation in childspacing after controlling statistically for the major intermediate or proximate variables. It then offers possible explanations for the lack of fit between theory and results at the micro level, concluding that the two most likely explanations are poor measurement of the four principal proximate determinants and the exclusion of additional proximate determinants.     

Interpersonal communication and the diffusion of family planning in West Malaysia

Using data from a 1966–1967 probability sample of West Malaysian married women 15–44 years of age, this paper analyzes the characteristics of women who were active in diffusing information about family planning. The woman’s age and her parity, her educational attainment, her race, her present residence (urban-rural), and whether or not she wanted more children were significantly related to opinion leadership in bivariate tables. However, these relationships appeared to be substantial mainly because these social and demographic characteristics were highly related to whether the woman participated in discussions about family planning with other women. Among women who did participate in such discussions, the social and demographic variables were not substantially related to opinion leadership. In fact, the critical variables for opinion leadership appeared to be participation in the discussions, greater knowledge of family planning, and a higher level of family planning use. An attempt is also made to assess the effect of interpersonal communication on the adoption of family planning among women in the sample.     

Explaining regional fertility variations in the Philippines

Analysis of the 1993 National Demographic Survey in the Philippines has uncovered regional variations in fertility-related behavior. The total fertility rate ranged from 2.8 in Manila to 5.9 in Bicol and averaged 4.1 for the entire country, but contraceptive prevalence rates were not highly correlated with total fertility (Manila showed the fifth highest prevalence, and Bicol the fifth lowest). This lack of correlation may be caused by the mix of contraceptive methods chosen with a high proportion of women using ineffective methods (40% of all currently married women of reproductive age [MWRA] were using contraceptives, but only 25% were using the most effective methods). Thus, low fertility was associated with use of the most effective methods regionally. Fertility also was lower in regions where women spent more time unmarried. Infecundity added to the discrepancy (Bicol had the lowest regional infecundity rate in the country). The total protection rate, which can be derived from three factors (contraceptive usage, time spent unmarried, and infecundity), accounts for must of the regional variation. Unmet need for contraception was found in 26% of currently MWRA, and another 12% were using ineffective methods. In designing effective family planning programs, policy-makers must understand the various factors that contribute to high levels of fertility in different regions and must be flexible enough to plan regionally-specific strategies. As the government decentralizes programs and resource management decisions, local-level analysis will be increasingly important.     

Self-Reported Ageism in Social Work Practitioners and Students

In this study, we focus on self-reported ageism in college students and social service providers using the Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE; Cherry & Palmore, 2008 Cherry, K. E. and Palmore, E. B. 2008. Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE): A measure of self–reported ageism. Educational Gerontology, 34: 849–861. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The ROPE is a 20-item questionnaire that measures positive and negative ageist behaviors that people engage in during everyday life. Participants included undergraduate and graduate social work students and practicing social service providers in the nursing home and mental health setting. Findings indicate that people of varying educational backgrounds and occupational experience in social services readily admit to positive ageist behaviors. Item analyses revealed similarities and differences between groups in the most and least frequent forms of ageism endorsed. Ageism as a social phenomenon with implications related to social work policy and practice is discussed.     

Marriage Patterns And Cumulative Fertility In West Malaysia: 1966–1967

Differentials in age at first marriage and being married more than once are discussed for a probability sample of West Malaysian currently married women 15-44 years of age. Both marriage ages and the incidence of multiple marriages vary greatly by race, place of current residence, wife's education, and husband's occupation; and the marriage variables are shown to have significant effects on the cumulative fertility of West Malaysian women. Early marriage leads to higher cumulative fertility and multiple marriages lead to lower cumulative fertility. Since the social groups with the highest proportions of early marriages are also those with the highest incidence of multiple marriages, the marriage variables explain some but not all of the variance in cumulative fertility for West Malaysian social groups. After adjustment for the effects of the marriage variables, rural Indian or Pakistani women still have the highest cumulative fertility and urban Chinese women with more than five years of schooling still have the lowest cumulative fertility.