The purpose of this paper is to review the patterns of contraceptive use in Australia, using data from a nationally representative sample of 5872 women aged 18 to 49. This survey was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2001 as part of the National Health Survey. Results of the analysis indicate that the oral contraceptive pill and condom were the two most frequently used methods. More than 76% of the respondents reported having ever used the pill. Over 23% of women were currently using condoms; of these 80% of the condom users used them for contraception – this included 36% who used condoms for both protection against infection and for contraception – and the remainder used them only for protection. Withdrawal was the third most popular non-surgical method up to age 40. Few women used IUDs, injections or diaphragms. Just over 3% of the respondents were using natural methods with the highest rate reported among those in their 30s. The ‘morning-after pill’ was reported mostly by women aged 18–24; however, there was no evidence to suggest that it was being used as a primary method of birth control. Contraceptive use declined in older women who turned to sterilization for themselves and/or their partners. Use of the contraceptive pill was somewhat higher among better-educated women, but lower among less-educated women and those from non-English-speaking backgrounds.

Using a sample of 2090 father and son pairs, the extent of intra- and inter-generational social mobility (migration between social classes) was examined over a 42-year period in a British cohort in relation to height, weight and body mass index (BMI). The mean height difference between the highest and lowest social class decreased from about 4 cm in the fathers' generation to about 3 cm in the sons' generation, indicating a decline in heterogeneity in height between classes. For fathers downward intra-generational social mobility ranged between 11% and 18% while between 16% and 26% were upwardly mobile; for sons 15% were downwardly mobile and 21% upwardly mobile. On average downwardly mobile fathers were shorter by between 0.1 cm and 0.7 cm while upwardly mobile fathers were taller by, on average, 0.6 cm to 1.7 cm. For sons, the downwardly mobile were on average 0.7 cm shorter and the upwardly mobile 0.8 cm taller. For weight and BMI there were no consistent relationships with intra-generational mobility in either the fathers' or sons' generations. Inter-generationally, between 18% and 19% of sons were downwardly mobile and between 39% and 40% were upwardly mobile; the downwardly mobile were shorter by about 0.9 cm and the upwardly taller by between 0.6 cm and 1.2 cm. Sons with higher BMI were more likely to be inter-generationally downwardly mobile.

Indicators of family planning service access and quality were generated using the Egypt DHS-I (1988) and the Egypt Service Availability Survey (1989), and linked to episodes of contraceptive pill use. Multilevel analysis was used to ascertain whether or not these access and quality indicators influence the continuation of pill use, net of women’s socioeconomic, demographic and motivational characteristics. A model with random components at the cluster and women levels was fitted for all reasons of discontinuation, except desire for pregnancy, at 24 months of use. Net of women’s background characteristics, the results show that facilities with smaller numbers of health personnel trained in family planning, a lack of access to facilities with female doctors and a lack of range of available methods are associated with a high risk of discontinuation of pill use for all reasons except desire for pregnancy.

Religion holds unique importance in people’s lives, and has been cited as an important factor in reproductive health. Pakistan has a Muslim majority and the character of the country is strongly marked by Islam. In rural areas, where the majority of the population reside, religious leaders are considered as opinion makers. The perception of adult males regarding the influence of the ‘religious factor’ in their use of modern contraceptive methods, and their views on the role of religious leaders in community education, were explored through a cross-sectional survey conducted in twelve rural districts of Pakistan in 2000. A sample of 180 married adult males participated in the study through consecutive sampling. The study was qualitative, utilizing tools such as in-depth and key-informant interviews. The majority of men interviewed considered that religious leaders were against fertility control, and 29% cited religion as a reason for their non-use of modern contraceptives. Respondents also suggested that the involvement of religious leaders in reproductive health programmes is essential for the programmes’ effectiveness in rural areas. They thought that religious leaders could contribute positively to community education, and suggested ways in which they could educate the community in reproductive health issues. They also suggested various channels through which religious leaders could be approached to convince them to cooperate in reproductive health programmes. The study concludes that involving religious leaders in rural settings could enable reproductive health programmes and services to reach more conservative groups in society, and thus contribute effectively to bringing about positive change in the attitudes of Pakistani society towards reproductive health.

Demographic trends in today's world are dominated by large fertility differentials between nations, with ‘less developed’ nations having higher fertility than the more advanced nations. The present study investigates whether these fertility differences are related primarily to indicators of economic development, the intellectual level of the population, or political modernity in the form of liberal democracy. Results obtained with multiple regression, path models and latent variable models are compared. Both log-transformed GDP and measures of intelligence independently reduce fertility across all methods, whereas the effects of liberal democracy are weak and inconsistent. At present rates of fertility and mortality and in the absence of changes within countries, the average IQ of the young world population would decline by 1.34 points per decade and the average per capita income would decline by 0.79% per year.

From matched birth and census records in the Matlab area of Bangladesh, monthly fertility rates for the period 1970–74 are studied for seasonal patterns by age and parity. Trigonometric regression techniques are used to summarize and compare the multiple series. Pronounced seasonal patterns are apparent for all age and parity groups. The general fertility rate peaks in December with a seasonal variation of 42% above and below the mean level. For younger women at low parities the peak is in late October, while for older women of higher parity it is in January. The shift progresses linearly with age and parity though the age effect is the more pronounced. A seasonal pattern of fecundability which varies by age group could explain the shift.

The increasing greying of India's population raises concerns about the welfare and health status of the aged. One important source of information of health status of the elderly is the National Sample Survey Rounds on Morbidity and Health Care Expenditure. Using unit-level data for 1995–96 and 2004, this paper examines changes in reported health status of the elderly in India and analyses their relationship with living arrangements and extent of economic dependency. It appears that even after controlling for factors like caste, education, age, economic status and place of residence, there has been a deterioration in self-perceived current health status of the elderly. The paper argues that, although there have been changes in the economic condition and traditional living arrangements – with a decline in co-residential arrangements – this is not enough to explain the decline in reported health status and calls for a closer look at narratives of neglect being voiced in developing countries.

The present cross-sectional study was done in order to illustrate the prevalence and types of consanguineous marriages among Afghanistan populations. Data on types of marriages were collected using a simple questionnaire. The total number of couples in the study was 7140 from the following provinces: Badakhshan, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Kabul, Kunduz, Samangan and Takhar. Consanguineous marriages were classified by the degree of relationship between couples: double first cousins, first cousins, first cousins once removed, second cousins and beyond second cousins. The coefficient of inbreeding (F) was calculated for each couple and the mean coefficient of inbreeding (α) estimated for each population. The proportion of consanguineous marriages in the country was 46.2%, ranging from 38.2% in Kabul province to 51.2% in Bamyan province. The equivalent mean inbreeding coefficient (α) was 0.0277, and ranged from 0.0221 to 0.0293 in these two regions. There were significant differences between provinces for frequencies of different types of marriages (p<0.001). First cousin marriages (27.8%) were the most common type of consanguineous marriages, followed by double first cousin (6.9%), second cousin (5.8%), beyond second cousin (3.9%) and first cousin once removed (1.8%). There were significant differences between ethnic groups for the types of marriages (χ2=177.6, df=25, p<0.001). Tajiks (Soni) and Turkmens (also Pashtuns) showed the lowest (α=0.0250) and highest (α=0.0297) mean inbreeding coefficients, respectively, among the ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The study shows that Afghanistan's populations, like other Islamic populations, have a high level of consanguinity.

Employing the Indonesian Family Life Survey, this paper depicts the trend in age at menarche in Indonesia for women born in 1944–1988. Mean age at menarche decreased from 14.39 years for birth year 1944 to 13.18 years for birth year 1988. Subsequently, this trend is related to the improvement in material conditions, measured by GDP per capita in childhood. The OLS results indicate that this decrease is largely explained by the improvement in material conditions. If age at menarche is considered an indicator of biological standard of living, these results suggest that the improvement in material conditions during the period converted to an improvement in biological standard of living.

Urinary cortisol and adrenaline excretion rates were measured in three Australian Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley region in the north-west of the country. The three communities, Derby, Kalumburu and Kupungarri, differ in size and remoteness and some lifestyle parameters. Cortisol excretion rate is associated with age and urine flow rate, but there is no association with smoking or the consumption of alcohol. All three communities show very high cortisol excretion rates compared to a sample of UK (Oxford) residents and there are also differences between the three communities. Adrenaline excretion rate also shows associations with age and urine flow rate, but not with smoking. Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region excrete adrenaline at a slightly higher rate than that found in Oxford, which itself is high by world standards. There are no marked differences between communities in their adrenaline excretion rates. Alcohol drinkers in Derby, where alcohol is freely available, have higher adrenaline output than non-drinkers.

This article examines how the sex composition of women's current children at the start of a pregnancy interval influences both fertility desires and the full range of reproductive actions women may take to realize them, including temporary contraception, abortion and sterilization, in Madhya Pradesh, India, where popular notions of ideal family size and sex composition are dominated by son preference. The analysis is conducted using a dataset of 9127 individual pregnancy intervals from a 2002 statewide representative survey of 2444 women aged 15–39 with at least one child. The results indicate that women's preferences go beyond a singular preference for male children, with the preferred composition of children being two boys and one girl. Women with this composition are 90% less likely to report having wanted another pregnancy (OR 0.097, p<0.01) relative to those with two girls. These preferences have significant implications for reproductive actions. While sex composition has no statistically significant effect on the use of temporary contraception, those with the preferred sex composition are twice as likely to attempt abortion (OR 2.436, p<0.01) and twelve times more likely to be sterilized (OR 12.297, p<0.01) relative to those with two girls only.

The aim of this study was to examine the changes in body composition (fatness and muscle and bone mass) and BMI in three cohorts of boys living in Krakow, Poland, over the last 30 years, and to assess how overweight and obesity frequencies have developed over the period. The anthropological survey was conducted in 2010, and comprised 1863 boys from Krakow aged 3–18 years. The analysis compared the latest measurements of selected skinfold thicknesses, BMI, total body muscle mass and bone mass with the results of surveys from 1983 (N=1934) and 2000 (N=2323). The frequency of overweight and obesity was assessed for the last survey series, and their trends determined for the years 1983–2000 and 2000–2010. The analysis of fat tissue distribution showed that the boys from the 2010 cohort, as compared with those examined in 2000, had a higher trunk adiposity, as manifested by greater thickness of subscapular and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses, and boasted a larger muscle mass and lower bone mass. The survey results also showed that, from 1983 to 2000, the percentage of overweight boys increased slightly (from 11.69% to 12.48%), whereas the frequency of obesity did not change. Over the last decade, the percentage of overweight people has increased to 15.94%, and the frequency of obesity has doubled, equalling 4.94% in 2010. The last decade has seen a minor trend in boys towards increased trunk adiposity, muscle mass, BMI and prevalence of overweight and obesity, and a slight decrease in bone mass.

A sample of 170 Regina school children, divided into subgroups according to family size and socio-economic status, was tested on the Otis Beta Mental Ability Test. The results demonstrated the existence of a definite relationship between intelligence and socio-economic status, but no significant relationship between family size and IQ, except among low socio economic status males. These results, interpreted as reflecting the changing relationship between intelligence and family size, are possibly the outcome of a changing fertility pattern within the various socio-economic status groups.

The increasing prevalence of negative body perceptions among adolescent girls and the tendency towards wishing to be thinner have become a cultural norm in Western culture. Adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to developing a negative body image due to physical and sexual changes occurring during puberty. This study aimed to evaluate the association between different measures of body image perceptions and different phases of the menstrual cycle after controlling for weight status and other potential confounders in Polish adolescent girls aged 12–18 years. Three-hundred and thirty participants of a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2009, normally cycling and with no eating disorders, completed a background questionnaire and the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale, and their anthropometric measurements were collected. The dependent outcome variables were measures of body image (actual body image, ideal body image and ideal-self discrepancy) and dichotomous body image perception (satisfied versus dissatisfied) adjusted for other predictor factors: socio-demographic variables, menstrual history and cycle phases, and weight status. One-way ANOVA indicated that weight status, age at menarche and menstrual cycle phase were associated with actual body image and rate of ideal-self discrepancy. Ideal body image was associated with weight status and menstrual cycle phase. General logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate associations of body dissatisfaction and all potential predictor variables. The final selected model of the multiple logistic regression analysis using the backward elimination procedure revealed that adjusted for other factors, negative body image was significantly associated with different phases of the menstrual cycle (ptrend=0.033) and increasing body weight status (ptrend=0.0007). The likelihood of body dissatisfaction was greatest during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle (OR=2.38; 95% CI 1.06, 5.32) and among girls in obesity class I (OR=8.04; 95% CI 2.37, 27.26). The study confirmed the association between body image dissatisfaction in adolescent girls and different phases of the menstrual cycle after controlling for weight status. The issue of negative body self-image is not only of cognitive, but also of practical value as understanding better the factors contributing to the formation of a negative body image may be instrumental in developing preventive health programmes targeted at young people.

This study examines the relationship between verbal, performance and total IQ scores and social class of 193 male householders living in a Cambridge suburb. The correlation coefficients between IQ scores and present occupational status were significantly higher than the correlations between IQ scores and social class of origin, suggesting that intragenerational social mobility is positively related to IQ.

Parent–offspring data were available for 85 father–son pairs. Analysis of the IQ differences between fathers and sons in relation to their social class differences provided further evidence for selective migration related to both IQ components and total IQ scores. In this sample there was a simple relationship between the extent of social mobility and the degree of difference between the father's and son's IQ scores.

The data from the Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Ghana in 1988 are used to identify determinants of immunisation uptake for children under 5 years. The logistic binomial analysis shows that socioeconomic factors are significant, especially women's education and region, and that the type of prenatal care received by the mother is also important. There is a strong familial correlation of vaccination behaviours, and there is also clustering of data within enumeration areas.

China’s urban population has experienced rapid fertility decline over the past six decades. This drastic change will have a significant impact on China’s demographic, social and economic future. However, the patterns and characteristics of urban China’s fertility decline have not been systematically examined. This study analyses the trends and age patterns of fertility in urban China since the 1950s, and summarizes the major characteristics of reproductive behaviours into four ‘lows’: extremely ‘low’ level of fertility; ‘low’ proportion of two and higher parity births; ‘low’ mean age at birth; and ‘low’ level of childlessness. The paper argues that the highly homogenous reproductive behaviours found in China’s now near 800 million urban population have been in part shaped by the country’s unprecedented government intervention in family planning. The ‘later, longer, fewer’ campaign in the 1970s and the ‘one-child’ policy, in particular, have left clear imprints on China’s reproductive norms and fertility patterns. The government-led family planning programme, however, has not been the only driving force of fertility decline. A wide range of social, economic, political and cultural changes have also affected the transition in family formation, reproductive behaviour and fertility patterns, and this has become increasingly prominent in the past two decades.

The effects of marriage between biological relatives on the incidence of childhood genetic illness and mortality are of major policy significance, as rates of consanguinity exceed 50% in various countries. Empirical research on this question is complicated by the fact that consanguinity is often correlated with poverty and other unobserved characteristics of households, which may have independent effects on mortality. This study has developed an instrumental variables empirical strategy to re-examine this question, based on the concept that the availability of unmarried cousins of the opposite gender at the time of marriage creates quasi-random variation in the propensity to marry consanguineously. Using primary data collected in Bangladesh in 2006–07 and Pakistan in 2009–10, the study found that previous estimates of the impact of consanguinity on child health were biased and falsely precise. The study also empirically investigated the social and economic causes of consanguinity (including marital quality) and concludes that marrying a cousin can have positive economic effects for one’s natal family, by allowing deferral of dowry payments until after marriage.

Seasonal or monthly fluctuations in suicides and homicides were analysed using US mortality data for the years 1969–78, using periodic regression analysis. The results were generally consistent (year-to-year) over the 10-year period. The pattern for suicide was distinctly seasonal: it was above average all spring and below average all winter. For homicides, the pattern was more monthly, with July–September and December being above average times and January–June being below average.

A study of employment during pregnancy and its effects was carried out among pregnant women who were under the care of the Community Health Center, Hadassah Medical School, in a neighbourhood of West Jerusalem. Of the women, 46−2% worked during pregnancy, and 78−6% of them were in occupations which demanded light physical activity. Most of the women worked throughout the whole pregnancy. Educational level as well as parity emerged as the main factors in determining whether a pregnant woman worked or not. No significant effects of employment were found in pregnancy complications or length of gestation, but significant differences did emerge in the number of delivery abnormalities. This finding is interpreted as the result of the interaction of several social conditions rather than of work itself. The findings support the hypothesis that work by itself does not affect either pregnancy or its outcome (as measured by birth weight).