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The Tokelau island study: fertility of New Zealand migrants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

J. M. Stanhope ,
I. A. M. Prior  and
W. R. Harding
J. M. Stanhope
Affiliation:
Wellington Hospital Epidemiology Unit, Wellington
I. A. M. Prior
Affiliation:
Wellington Hospital Epidemiology Unit, Wellington
W. R. Harding
Affiliation:
Department of Food Technology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Summary

Atoll-dwelling people of Tokelau in the central Pacific have been studied in their home environment and after migration to the industrial culture of New Zealand (NZ). The NZ migrants reflect the predominantly male and young composition of the migrating group. Recent migration has eased the lot of the surplus young women from Tokelau, resulting in earlier marriage and less long-term spinsterhood. The apparently higher fertility of women residing in NZ is largely explained by selection of female migrants who already have two or more children. Earlier menarche and earlier marriage in NZ probably contribute little. Future trends will be monitored, and a decline in migrant fertility is expected, if Tokelauans follow the pattern of other Polynesian migrants to urban environments.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , July 1981 , pp. 253 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © 1981, Cambridge University Press

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