The study looks at the effects of maternal sociodemographic characteristics and the quality of the environment on child survival through two intervening variables, breast-feeding and prenatal care. A linear structural equation modelling approach was used to examine infant and child survival based on a weighted sample of 5180 Liberian children aged 0–5 years. The findings confirm previous studies, but also reveal complex relationships of the role of education, maternal age and breast-feeding in enhancing child survival.

The Nepal Fertility and Family Planning Survey of 1986 demonstrated that demographic variables, previous birth interval and survival of preceding child, still predominated as determinants of infant mortality, particularly in rural areas of Nepal. However, in urban Nepal, where the level of socioeconomic development is higher, an environmental variable, along with previous birth interval and survival of preceding child emerges as important in determining infant mortality. Separate policy measures for child survival prospects in rural and urban Nepal are suggested.

In 10,108 babies born to gypsy parents, birth weight, birth length and gestational age are compared with a national reference sample, taking into account maternal education, age, and birth interval. The gypsy babies tend consistently to be smaller, and this difference is attributable to the circumstances in which the gypsies live as well as the poorer maternal education. There appears to be a vicious circle—poor hygiene and living conditions adversely affect birth size, which in turn puts the child at a disadvantage in terms of survival, health and development.

This study was conducted in 1985 in Asunción, Paraguay, 6 years after the closure of the state supported family planning services. Data from national surveys in 1977 and 1987 permit a comparison of sources of contraceptive supplies before and after the elimination of government support for family planning. The purchase of pseudo-abortifacients from private pharmacies was used as an indication of induced abortion. After the loss of government clinics, it is suggested that some women turned to pharmacists to obtain pseudo-abortifacients when faced with unwanted pregnancy. There is an indication of increased pseudo-abortifacient use, particularly among unmarried women and those from poorer neighbourhoods.

Marriage-first birth intervals are examined in two historical populations, Quebec (1608–1765) and Haut-Jura (1689–1980), comparing intervals in mothers and daughters, and in sister-sister pairs. The results point to a weak relationship between intervals of mothers and daughters, though it does not attain significance. Shared environment does not seem to be responsible since there is no association between pairs of sisters from the same populations.

This paper applies models of the onset of adolescent sexual intercourse using national data from Denmark and the USA. The model gave excellent fits to data on Danish Whites and a good fit to American Whites, but the model-fits for American Blacks and Hispanics were not as good. The weakness of the latter model fits may reflect either real processes that the model does not capture or problems in the reliability of adolescent sexuality data.

Infant and child mortality differentials are analysed by education of parents and other family members, access to toilet, electricity and source of drinking water in urban Nepal, using data from the Nepal Fertility and Family Planning Survey, 1986. The analyses showed significant effects of education, access to toilet and electricity in lowering infant and child mortality. Access to toilet and electricity are proxies for house-hold socioeconomic status which suggests that education and household resources are complementary in lowering the infant and child mortality.

Estimates of child mortality are mainly based on reports by mothers on the survival status of their children. Infant mortality estimates from such data do not seem to have declined in recent years. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics sample registration infant mortality estimates appear to be suspiciously low.

This study examines the relationship between eight socio-demographic variables and the risk of pregnancy loss in a rural area of Bangladesh. The risks of spontaneous miscarriage and stillbirth were significantly associated with maternal age, pregnancy order and previous pregnancy wastage.

Data from an historical population in which fertility control was minimal and modern health services were mostly unavailable are used to show that there appears to have been a strong association between previous birth interval length and infant mortality, especially when the previous child survived. Although only imperfect proxies for breast-feeding practices and other potentially confounding factors are available for this population, the results suggest that the association between previous interval length and infant mortality in this population is not solely, or primarily, a function of differences in breast-feeding behaviour or socioeconomic status. Other factors, e.g. maternal depletion or sibling competition, are more likely to explain the observed association.

This study reveals evidence of a significant sex preference among men. Programmes aimed at changing men's views on the importance of the sex of a child must be implemented in order to reduce the desired family size and eventual fertility.

The effects of socioeconomic factors on secular trends in suicide rates in Japan for the periods 1953–72 and 1973–86 were investigated using twelve socioeconomic indicators. Multiple regression analysis showed that the socioeconomic indicators affecting suicide rates were not identical in the two periods. The rates in both sexes in 1953–72 were closely related to unemployment rate and the labour force but between 1973 and 1986, divorce rate and the proportion in tertiary industry were most influential. The changes reflect the socioeconomic changes in industrial structure in Japan in transition from an industrial to a service economy.

A 1980–81 survey of the rural population of Ethiopia found high levels of infecundity and subfertility, although there was considerable variation by region, ethnicity and age of women. Higher levels of infecundity were geographically concentrated in a broad belt that ran from the south and south-west of the country, across to the north-east. The analyses suggest that infecundity is influenced by ecological factors, more than by ethnicity.

Studies in other countries have identified social class as a risk factor for infant mortality. In Australia there is no systematic collection of population data by social class, partly due to the absence of a recognized measure. The use of occupational prestige as an indicator of social class is discussed and Australian prestige scales reviewed. In a population based study, logistic regression analysis of infant mortality in an Australian (NSW) population shows the effects of social class on infant mortality which remain when maternal age, marital status and parity are controlled.

The relationship between parents' stated sex preferences for children and actual parental behaviour towards sons and daughters is examined among the Mukogodo, a group of traditional pastoralists in rural Kenya. Although their cultural values are male-centred and they tend to express a preference for sons, Mukogodo parents actually appear to be more solicitous of daughters, and the Mukogodo have a strongly female-biased childhood sex ratio. Studies of stated sex preferences should therefore be coupled with attempts to assess actual parental investment in sons and daughters.

The effects of birth spacing on neonatal and post-neonatal mortality in Brazil were found to be very consistent with models based on data from other South American countries. The model for neonatal mortality simplified to three significant variables, whereas the model for post-neonatal mortality included four significant interactions.

The pseudo-genetic analysis of given names shows that, in the Scilly Isles, coefficients of relationship of first names are similar on St Mary's, the Outer Isles, and in the total sample of 5666 individuals married there in two and a half centuries. Comparable coefficients of relationship of a sample of 1658 given names in marriages in England and Wales in 1975 are considerably smaller, but similar within and between districts. The coefficients of relationship of given names on the Scilly Isles decreased during the 19th and especially the 20th centuries in parallel with decreases in random relationship from surnames. The genetic versus cultural–linguistic factors cannot be distinguished in the temporal variation in names, but the geographic differentiation virtually always reported in surnames is not present in these examples of given names and the geographic pattern in the surnames thus seems to result from the hereditary aspect of surnames. This result supports the validity of use of surnames in models of human genetic geography.

Differences in age at marriage, fertility and contraceptive use are related to religious background, individual educational level and community level education. In general, the effects of community education are weak compared to individual level of education, but differences exist between Hindus and Roman Catholics.

Free access to contraception and effective legislation measures, have resulted in a decline in fertility in Singapore. A new population policy of ‘three children or more if you can afford it’ was therefore introduced in 1986. This paper discusses the new population policies and measures their effect on fertility in Singapore.

Information on levels, trends and determinants of infant and child mortality was available from the 1985 In-depth Fertility Survey which was conducted in three provinces of China. Mortality of children below age 5 varied from 49 per 1000 live births in Shaanxi to 20 in Shanghai in 1980–85 and has declined substantially since 1960, from 206 in Shaanxi and 66 in Shanghai. Male mortality was considerably higher than female mortality in the neonatal and post-neonatal period, and at ages 1–5 years. Birth weight, place of residence and mother's education were found to be important determinants of mortality; age of mother and parity were less important.