bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Family growth in Aberdeen
Authors: Thompson Barbara , Illsley Raymond 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThis paper reports the findings of longitudinal studies of married primigravidae resident in Aberdeen city:(1) All 1026 primigravidae delivered in 1949 were followed up 5 years later.(2) A 1-in-6 random sample of primigravidae delivered 1950–53 (330 women) were studied intensively and followed up at 5 and 10 years.The findings are biased in favour of families of manual workers because more upper social class families left Aberdeen.Many primigravidae had no definite ideas on family size but they made up their minds or changed their preferences (sometimes to accommodate to reality) as they gained experience of marriage and motherhood. Most women wanted 2 or 3 children and none wanted more than 4 children.There were striking differentials in fertility at both 5 and 10 years. Women who were under 20 years of age when they had their first baby, those who conceived prenuptially, and those married to a semi-skilled or unskilled manual worker had the largest families at both 5 and 10 years. At 5 years, although on average such women were having intercourse more frequently, they were the least likely to have been regular users of contraceptives.Two-thirds of all pregnancies which occurred in the first 5 years were ‘unintended’. Only 15% of couples had used contraceptives regularly from marriage and a further 20% became regular users in the 5 years following the birth of their first child. At the end of the first 5 years, 10% of women already had more children ‘than they felt able to manage without excessive strain’. The number increased in the following years but was modified partly by delegation of responsibility for a few children to other women but more especially by the liberal policy to sterilization pursued in Aberdeen. The repetition of the disadvantages in the childhood environment of the largest families is illustrated. It is argued that ‘the pill’, which was not available to the women in the studies reported, may reduce the number of ‘unintended‘ pregnancies in future, but that sterilization may remain the most satisfactory measure of family limitation in a small group of women whose way of life is not conducive to forward planning and sustained rational behaviour.
The Tokelau Island Migrant Study: Fertility and Associated Factors before Migration
Authors: Stanhope J. M. , Prior I. A. M. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThe Tokelau Island Migrant Study is outlined. It is a multi-disciplinary study of health and social change in the Tokelau islanders, following up emigrants to New Zealand (NZ). In this paper fertility and related aspects are examined, comparing pre-migrants (persons subsequently known to have emigrated to NZ) with non-migrants. Pre-migrant females tended to be younger, to marry later, to be less often childless and to have suffered more miscarriages, than non-migrants. Tokelau parity lagged behind other Polynesian populations due to later marriages, and reached a level below that of the more westernized Rarotongans and NZ Maoris.Tokelau life expectancy was estimated to be 62·2–62·6 years for males and 62·9–66·4 years for females.
The Use of Oestrogens for Postcoital Contraception
Authors: Coles Ruth 
Published: July 2008

SummaryOestrogens as postcoital contraception have been prescribed for 282 women at the Brook Advisory Centre (Avon) since January 1973. A daily dose of 50 mg diethylstilboestrol for 5 days started within 72 hr of unprotected intercourse was used from January 1973. This was changed to 5 mg ethinyl oestradiol in May 1974. There were no pregnancies nor any serious side effects. Follow-up showed that most women had their next period at the expected time.
Fertility and Family Planning in Accra
Authors: Fosu Gabriel B. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryData from a sample interview survey conducted in Accra in 1982 show that there is a very high level of knowledge of contraceptive methods among mothers aged 25–39 years (92%). However, only about 41% of the women had ever used any form of contraception, and only 18% were using modern methods at the time of the study. This is low for a city where an official family planning programme has been in operation for 15 years, even when the confounding effects of availability and accessibility of services have been controlled for. Suggestions are made for increasing the effectiveness of such programmes.
Changing Determinants of Infant and Child Mortality: On the Basis of the Korean Experience, 1955–73
Authors: Kim Tai-Hun 
Published: July 2008

SummaryFrom analysis of the 1974 Korean National Fertility Survey data, the changing patterns of demographic and socioeconomic determinants of infant and child mortality are generalized. The pattern for infant mortality is: (1) in a traditional society demographic factors affect infant mortality more than socioeconomic factors; (2) at the early stage of development, demographic factors are replaced by socioeconomic factors as the main determinants; (3) when the difference in living standards between social classes narrows, the socioeconomic differentials in mortality also diminish; and (4) at the stage of high development the effects of demographic factors remain although the absolute differences are very small. But the pattern of changing determinants of child mortality is nearly the reverse of that of infant mortality.
Hepatitis B and the Sex Ratio at Birth: A Comparative Analysis of Four Populations
Authors: Chahnazarian Anouch , Blumberg Baruch S. , London W. Thomas 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThe relationship between hepatitis B infection in parents and the sex ratio at birth of their offspring is examined in four populations. The hepatitis B carrier state in parents may increase the sex ratio of their offspring, but it seems that immunization against hepatitis B is unlikely to affect the sex ratio at birth of future generations.
Determinants of Child Mortality in South-West Uganda
Authors: Vella Venanzio , Tomkins Andrew , Nidku John , Marshall Tom 
Published: July 2008

SummaryAnthropometric and sociodemographic variables were taken from 4320 children in a baseline survey carried out in March–April 1988 in the district of Mbarara, south-west Uganda. After 12 months a follow-up survey assessed the mortality of the children during the preceding year. Lack of ownership of cattle, recent arrival in the village, using candles for lighting, being of birth order higher than 5 and having a father with less than 8 years of schooling were significantly associated with child mortality. The addition of mid-upper arm circumference significantly improved the logistic model of socioeconomic variables and mortality and did not diminish the predictive power of socioeconomic variables in relation to increased mortality. This suggests that nutritional status and specific socioeconomic factors are both, independently, important predictors of child mortality.
Biosocial aspects of Ainu hirsuteness
Authors: Harvey R. G. , Brothwell D. R. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThere are as yet few studies of body hair variation in man. Of all human populations, the Ainu of Japan are most famous for their alleged hirsuteness, and the history of this somewhat controversial subject is reviewed. Data are presented on chest, back and facial hair pattern and quantity in a sample of Ainu and Ainu/Japanese hybrids, resulting initially from field work by the Cambridge Expedition to Northern Japan in 1964. Methodological problems are discussed. Social attitudes to hairiness in Japan over the past few centuries are commented on, in view of their possible relevance in maintaining the biological distinctiveness of the Ainu. It is concluded that although the Ainu have more body hair than other Japanese, compared with some other groups—for instance American ‘Whites’—they can not be considered exceptionally hirsute.
Science and world animal production
Authors: McMeekan C. P. 
Published: July 2008

Editorial noteThe first Hammond Memorial Lecture was given in London in March 1969 by Dr C. P. McMeekan, CBE, formerly Director of the Ruakura Research Centre in New Zealand, afterwards on the staff of, and currently consultant to, the World Bank. Apart from its special interest to those engaged in animal science, the lecture contained much of general interest to natural and social scientists and we are grateful to Dr McMeekan, the Hammond Memorial Trustees and the British Society for Animal Production, under whose auspices the lecture was delivered, for permission to print a substantial portion of it in the Journal of Biosocial Science.Some of the selected material is provocative. For instance, it would be interesting to know the basis of the assumption that world population having risen to 6000 million by the end of this century, will then stabilize. Again, many will disagree with the estimates of unused usable land. But all of the material stimulates thought and we are glad to have the opportunity of publishing it.After discussing the outstanding achievements of Sir John Hammond and the progress of animal science generally, Dr McMeekan continued:
Socio-Economic and Cultural Influences on Child Growth in Rural Jamaica
Authors: Desai Patricia , Standard K. L. , Miall W. E. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryA semi-longitudinal study of growth in children up to 5 years of age in a rural Jamaican community is described. One of its aims was to investigate the relationship between growth and factors in the social environment such as family structure, parental characteristics, housing and income. A strong relationship between growth and socio-economic variables was found. This apparently masked whatever effects the quality of care or separation from parents may have had upon child growth.
The social impact of haemophilia
Authors: Boon R. A. , Roberts D. F. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryHaemophilia, one of the oldest known genetic disorders, imposes varying degrees of disability on those affected. A survey of 137 haemophiliacs, seventy-eight adults and fifty-nine children, in the north of England was conducted to discover the extent of social, educational and employment problems created by the disease, while investigation of sixty-nine mothers of patients provided information on its impact on family life.Some problems are adequately met, others not; those of education and employment are the most serious. Educational deficiencies are due to incomplete and interrupted schooling. Choice of employment is severely restricted for them, and stability of employment is adversely affected by episodes of ill-health. But with improved methods of medical treatment the children are losing less school time than the adults did, fewer of them attend schools for the physically handicapped, and this should result in the attainment of better educational standards, and therefore more hope for permanent and satisfactory employment in the future.The birth of a haemophilic child markedly affects the family, particularly the mother, but again there is a difference in response between the present and the older generation of mothers.
The social responsibility of the scientist
Authors: Morton R. A. 
Published: July 2008

Professor Morton was Johnston Professor of Biochemistry in the University of Liverpool, 1994–66. He served on the Council of the Royal Society, 1959–61, and on the Council of the Royal Institute of Chemistry, 1955–61. He was the first Chairman of the British National Committee for Chemical Education and of the Food Additives and Contaminants Committee. He has also served on many committees dealing with vitamins, bread and flour, nutrition and biological research generally. In recent years he has been active on committees of the Natural Environment Research Council.This lecture was given to a varied audience of staff and students at the University College of Aberystwyth on 25th February 1970. The Executive Editor is pleased to be able to publish this interesting and thought-provoking discourse on a problem of ever-growing importance.
Return of menstruation and fertility in Thai women after contraceptive injections
Authors: McDaniel Edwin B. , Pardthaisong Tieng 
Published: July 2008

A study was made of the return of spontaneous menstruation and fertility in 121 Thai women who had received contraceptive injections of medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) at intervals of 3 or 6 months with supplements of oral oestrogen at monthly intervals and who, for various reasons, had discontinued medication after 6 months or more.Spontanecous menstruation returned in 113 of the women within 6 months, but no direct relation was found between the number of injections, period of usage or total dose of DMPA and the time required for the return of menstruation.Of the 121 women who discontinued medication, only seventeen stated that they did so because they wished to conceive. Of these, twelve became pregnant within 10 months and three more within 27 months. The 104 women who discontinued medication for other reasons had a much lower pregnancy rate and must be supposed to have used, at least to some extent, other methods of contraception.
Contemporary Trends in the Stability of English Marriage
Authors: Chester Robert 
Published: July 2008

SummaryFrom 1959 to 1969 the annual number of petitions for divorce in England and Wales increased by 133%, and the rate of divorce per 1000 married population increased by an estimated 100%. Traditional explanations for the historical increase in divorce, relying on such factors as increased legal and financial opportunity, wartime disturbances and demographic changes, seem inappropriate to deal with recent experience, and it is proposed that normative changes are involved. Cohort analysis suggests that the marriages of the 1960s are more vulnerable to early divorce than those of the 1939/45 war, and that this vulnerability was increasing throughout the period. It seems likely that earlier divorce also implies higher proportions ultimately divorcing.Total marriage breakdown is impossible to quantify because some separations are informal and leave no record. However, a formula is proposed for totalling divorce petitions and matrimonial proceedings in the lower courts to calculate annual numbers of breakdowns newly coming to public notice. Calculations based on this show an increase in annual numbers of 75% over the period, and of 65% in the rate, thus demonstrating that divorce figures alone give a false impression of trends in marriage breakdown. Although the rates and numbers of unrecorded breakdown are unknown, and may be diminishing, it is concluded that breakdown is probably increasing in volume among contemporary marriages. On the basis of speculative estimates it is also suggested that perhaps one sixth to one quarter of contemporary marriages may ultimately experience some form of breakdown.The question is posed whether the increases shown represent a generational effect, due to pass, or a new pattern of high manifest breakdown rates. On the basis of trends in the indices of various forms of valueorientated personal behaviour (including divorce), it is suggested that from about 1955 onwards new patterns of behaviour began to emerge. The causation of such patterns is attributed to social structural changes developing since the was which have fostered a more permissive approach to personal behaviour. It is concluded that these trends have influenced the norms of marriage behaviour, and that relatively high rates of marriage breakdown will henceforth be an integral feature of social experience.
On the psychological attachment of infants to their mothers
Authors: Anderson J. W. 
Published: July 2008

The attachment of the infant to the mother can be seen in open parkland when an infant is set free for exercise and play. In an area of safe space, a mother has little cause to restrain her child, nor, owing to other attractions around, to entertain or otherwise divert him. In order to deduce which of the women and infants make up kinship pairs, the observer postulates criteria for recognizing a pair; attachment is then conceived of as factors which identify a mother and her infant in field conditions.The infant detaches himself from his mother but he maintains proximity to her, particularly around the age of 2 years, when his proximity- and contact-seeking are at their height. Yet, at this age, the infant shows most alertness to remote events. From 2 years old onwards, the presence of age-mates competes for the infant's proximity. Hence, the statistical data presented below is from observations which were made when the likelihood of interruption by neighbouring people was minimal.Proximity to the mother can be defined as the child's being at rest beside her, or as his playing in her vicinity, or as a pattern of exploratory locomotion with the mother the centre of the territory he covers. In each of these aspects, the behaviour of 1-, 2- and 3-year-olds is distinguished by typical distances from the mother.The infant's responsiveness to unexpected sights or sounds is inferred from the orientation responses he makes to them. In his postures and the distances he takes up from the mother, his feeling-states of alertness, fear, anger, uncertainty, fatigue and conflict are expressed; when thus activated, he tends to relate himself to his mother.
Study of applicants for abortion at the Royal Northern Hospital, London
Authors: Ingham Charlotte , Simms Madeleine 
Published: July 2008

In the second and third quarters of 1970, 155 women applied for abortion to two of the three consultant gynaecologists at the Royal Northern Hospital, London. Of the applicants, 100 were single, forty-two married and thirteen widowed, divorced or separated (WDS). The single women came disproportionately from larger than average families, and fifty-eight were from broken or unhappy homes. Of the total sample, 39% were Church of England and 30% Roman Catholic. By occupation, the largest group was of semi-skilled or unskilled workers (thirty-seven) and the smallest one of professional women (seven). Less than half were Britishborn and one-third were from the Commonwealth. More than half had never attempted to use any method of contraception. The 155 patients between them had had fourteen previous abortions and twenty-five illegitimate children.Of the 155 women, seventy-one single, twenty-three married and eight WDS obtained an abortion, this proportion of single women being considerably higher than the national average. So also was the proportion of women in the age range 20–34 years. Slightly more women who were Britishborn and C of E by religion obtained abortion than were represented in the sample as a whole. A number of clinic and hospital details were recorded, such as stage of pregnancy at first hospital interview and at abortion, delay in securing hospital appointment and bed. A follow-up, about 18 months later, showed that nearly all the women were glad they had had an abortion; very few had experienced serious depression, feelings of guilt or religious problems afterwards. Most of the women who needed it were now using birth control, mostly the pill. Three patients became pregnant again within a year of their termination. One had a miscarriage and one (a schoolgirl) had a second termination. The third applied for a second abortion, but was refused.Fifty-three women, approximately one-third, did not have a hospital abortion, but only fifteen of these were categorically refused; the others had spontaneous or private abortions, changed their minds after interview or failed to appear for the operation. Of the fifteen, seven were refused because the pregnancy was too far advanced. Two girls were refused because they had had previous unwanted pregnancies, but had not used contraception on this occasion; one of these was 19 years old and already had had two abortions and an illegitimate baby. The remaining six were refused for various reasons.Some general conclusions are drawn from the survey and some recommendations made.
Vasectomy in Colombia: a pilot study
Authors: Goldsmith Alfredo , Echeverria Gilda , Goldberg Rona 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThis paper describes the first study of vasectomized men in Latin America; it is based on personal interviews with 172 men who had undergone the operation at least 3 months previously.The majority of the men chose to have the operation relatively late in life (38·9 years), after they had had a large number of children (5·9 living). Men from all education and occupation levels were represented in the sample; about 25% were practising Catholics. Many cited the effectiveness of vasectomy as a major factor in their decision. More than one-half reported at least one failure with other methods. Principal original sources of information about vasectomy for the majority were the mass media. Most reported that their sexual activity had remained unchanged or had improved since the operation and expressed satisfaction with the results of the operation.(Summary in Spanish, p. 505.)
Involuntary Childlessness
Authors: Van Keep P. A. , Schmidt-Elmendorff H. 
Published: July 2008

SummaryThe problem of involuntary childlessness and its effect on marital happiness has been studied in an investigation involving interviews with 75 childless couples and a matched control of 75 couples with children. Marital happiness in various phases of the couple's relationship is plotted; in childless women this is seen to fall to its lowest ebb during the phase immediately before the problem is brought to the attention of the doctor, whilst in men it occurs whilst waiting for the medical diagnosis to be made. It seems that whilst childless marriages in themselves are not necessarily less happy than those with children (though all the childless couples interviewed had sought to change their situation by seeking medical help) such marriages are based on a different equilibrium from that of couples with children. In childless marriages there is often closer communication between the partners and a greater degree of communis opinio. People with children are sometimes over-careful in their approach to those without children. Attitudes and behaviour with regard to fidelity are seen to differ; the childless couples interviewed were less permissive in this respect than those with children. Alternatives in the form of artificial insemination, adoption, careers and pets are briefly considered.
The behaviour of children at home who were severely malnourished in the first 2 years of life
Authors: Richardson S. A , Birch H. G , Ragbeer C 
Published: July 2008

SummaryStudies of school age children who were severely malnourished in infancy have focused primarily on somatic growth and intelligence, but information about behaviour is almost completely lacking. In this study the social behaviour of 71 Jamaican school boys who were severely malnourished in infancy (index subjects) is compared with that of classmates of the same age and sex (comparisons) and also with the nearest sibling of the same sex where available. The child's behaviour in his home setting was assessed through an interview with the child's parent or parent substitute. It was found that the index children differed significantly from their comparisons in several ways. They were less liked by siblings and more unhappy at school. They more often behaved immaturely, were more clumsy and were either more highly active or lethargic. They were also more often withdrawn, solitary or unsociable. Differences between index boys and their siblings were not statistically significant on individual questions but were in the same direction as the index-comparision differences. No relationship was found between the age when admitted to hospital for malnutrition and later behaviour. Examination of the aetiological role of malnutrition and other biological and social factors is the next step in the present study.