Dawn B. Neill

Urbanization and Daughter-Biased Parental Investment in Fiji

Dawn B. Neill — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:49:17 PST

Parental investment decisions guide parental actions regarding children’s productive work and are shaped by ecological context. Urban ecology enhances long-term payoffs to investment in human capital, increasing opportunity costs for work performed by children, and decreased workload should result. Using an embodied capital framework, self-reported data on urban and rural Indo-Fijian children’s work activities are compared. Results show higher workloads for older children, rural children, and girls. High scholastic achievement is associated with lower workloads for girls, but not boys. This pattern is interpreted as daughter-biased investment in the context of urbanization.

Do Women Really Need Marital Partners for Support of Their Reproductive Success? The Case of the Matrilineal Khasi of N.E. India

Donna L. Leonetti et al. — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:01:25 PDT

Among the Khasi, a matrilineal society in N. E. India, women have direct control over resources and help from matrilineal kin. Given this context, we question what effects husbands might have on women's reproductive success. Multivariate analyses of husband contributions on number of liveborn children, child survival, and growth of children find positive effects. These effects pertain particularly if the husband is reported to be head of household, otherwise husband effects can be negative. The analysis is framed in terms of facultative reproductive strategies as husbands' contributions are viewed as responses to variation in women's resources and condition.

Fast Food Foraging: The Impact of Neighborhood, Household and Cultural Factors on Dietary Decision-Making and BMI in South Los Angeles

Dawn B. Neill et al. — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:48:47 PDT

Previous research has linked neighborhood characteristics and obesity trends. In particular, lack of access to affordable, healthy food is seen as contributing to poor dietary habits and low levels of physical activity. At the household level, food choices are often shaped by time constraints where working families use fast food to cope with low pay and long, inflexible work schedules, and as a strategy to reduce work-family conflict and minimize time and energy expenditures. For individuals, food preferences are related to cultural values such as eating traditional foods or consuming low calorie foods to maintain body weight. Thus, decisions about food are shaped by issues of access, time, and culture at both the macro- and individual-level. To better understand food choice decisions, we seek to expand applications of foraging theory to inner city food environments. In doing so, we will evaluate the impact of neighborhood-level (i.e. access to fast food versus full-service grocery stores), household-level (i.e. temporal and energy constraints on food procurement and meal preparation) and individual-level factors (i.e. cultural food values and preferences) on food choice in South Los Angeles County. In support of this model we present results from our previous research indicating that (1) maternal time budgets and access to fresh versus prepared foods impact children’s dietary intake and BMI; and (2) children are very likely to model their cultural values and preferences on those of their parents.

Cooperative Breeding Effects Among the Matrilineal Khasi of N. E. India

Donna L. Leonetti et al. — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:48:46 PDT

As a hallmark of our species, mothers of small children generally require and receive help from others in their reproductive efforts of parenting, in what can be called cooperative breeding. This help appears to affect the frequency of births and the success of reproductive efforts as measured by the health and survival of children. The nature of such effects in family systems organized around women and in which women control resources holds interest with respect to the evolution of the human species. The matrilineal Khasi tribe of N. E. India are swidden agriculturalists characterized by low socioeconomic resources and high natural fertility (average is 6.7 children). Women are economically active in the fields, markets, and in home ownership. Khasi households, which may have several married or single women and men are organized around the matriline, often consisting of three generations. A woman is free to choose her own husband who may or may not join the household. Our data represent 773 households providing lineage and reproductive histories comprising 3,274 births. Dependent variables include interbirth interval, cumulative net reproductive success by age of mother, and child nutritional status and mortality (172 deaths). Within this strongly matrilineal context, we examine measures of reproductive success in terms of local resource enhancement and resource competition models with respect to sibling and older offspring effects (depending on sex, age and birth order). We also examine the effect of husband’s presence and of grandmother’s help at the birth of a child, and her continued presence in the household.

Urbanization, Kin Dispersion, and Daughter-Biased Parental Investment in Fiji

Dawn B. Neill — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:48:43 PDT

Parental investment decisions guide the actions parents take regarding child productive work and are shaped by ecological context. Urban ecology modifies tradeoffs to long-term investments in human capital, thereby increasing opportunity costs for children to participate in production and lower levels of work should result. Though child work has an immediate return, parents are expected to trade some level of short-term gain for educational investment that will result in higher long-term returns from experience-based embodied capital. It is predicted that children who perform well in school will do less productive work and that urban ecology will amplify the effect of parental embodied capital on quality-based investments. Using an embodied capital framework, self-reported data on routine activities of urban and rural Indo-Fijian children (6.5-16 years, N=502), are used to examine work patterns. Results show higher workloads in rural areas, for older children, and for girls. High educational performance decreases child productive work for young children and older girls, but not older boys. This daughter-biased investment pattern is interpreted based on qualitative data suggesting parents obtain greater long-term benefits from subsidizing high performing daughters. Urbanization in Fiji is associated with dispersion of extended kin, an increase in divorce, and a shortage of safe, culturally appropriate employment for females. Urban women no longer have extended kin for support, should they become divorced or widowed. By investing in high performing daughters, parents seek to substitute formal skills for the security previously provided by extended kin, thereby assuring access to income and independence for daughters.

The Effects of Famine, Maternal Age, and Paternal Age on Fetal Loss in Rural Bangladesh

D. B. Neill et al. — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:54:59 PDT

The effect of famine on fetal loss has been well documented for a number of populations. In this paper we examine the effect of famine on fetal loss in rural Bangladesh, which experienced a severe famine during 1973 and 1974 following the 1971 war for independence. Using data from the Internal Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, the effect of famine on fetal loss is examined considering both maternal age (MA) and paternal age (PA). Observations include records of 65,590 pregnancies from 254,471 individuals followed from 1974 to 1982.

Logistic regression was used to model the effects of MA, PA, and birth year on the probability of fetal loss. As expected, risk of fetal loss increased with MA. An unexpected but consistent finding was that the probability of fetal loss decreased with increasing PA (see figure). The probability of fetal loss declined from 1974 to 1976, but then increased through 1982.

These results support previous studies indicating an increase in fetal loss with MA, but are inconsistent with previous research indicating an increase in fetal loss with PA. Given the marginal health conditions in rural Bangladesh during the study period, the decline in fetal loss with PA may reflect the effects of better nutritional status for the wives of older males.

Effects of Grandmother's Presence and Work Effort on Fertility, Survivorship, and Weight in Two Ethnic Groups in N.E. India

D. L. Leonetti et al. — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:54:58 PDT

Hypotheses regarding the selection for extension of post-menopausal life in humans depend on showing that reproductive success is enhanced via positive effects of older persons on the fertility and offspring viability of descendants. We investigate grandmother effects in 617 patrilineal Bengali and 772 matrilineal Khasi households in N.E. India. Direct access to resources varies. Bengali women do no field labor nor do they market or own property. Khasi women own property and are productive workers in the fields and in wage labor and manage the household resources via selling and buying in the markets. The current living status and the presence ofa grandmother at the time of each birth was noted, and the current work effort of grandmothers was estimated through surveys on the frequency of a long list of child care, domestic, and field work activities by calculating kilocalorie unit estimates of effort based on amount of energy use involved in each. Survivorship to age 6 yrs of the children born to the reproductive women of the household, and weight and height of all children currently under age 6 years were measured and z-scores computed. The data show that in both groups the pace of fertility is faster for reproductive women of higher parities who have had a living mother-in-law (Bengali) or mother (Khasi). With respect to survivorship, only Khasi grandmother's status had a significantly positive effect (present, 0.966, absent 0.857; p<0.05). The more pronounced effects of Khasi grandmothers may be explained by their more direct access to material resources.

Extrinsic Risk: Introduction to the Special Issue

Dawn B. Neill — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:54:55 PDT

Expanding Opportunity Structures: Parental Investments in Education, Migration, and Extrinsic Risk Reduction among Indo-Fijians

Dawn B. Neill — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:54:53 PDT

Parental investment strategies are contingent on parental capacities and ecology. Parental embodied capital may be important in aspiration construction and investments in children’s human capital, which is especially important in urban environments where skills are directly tied to wage income. For Indo-Fijians, rural ecology strongly limits opportunities. Here this limitation is conceptualized as extrinsic risk and immune to reduction through enhanced parental investment. Urban migration is interpreted as a risk reduction strategy, given an expanded urban opportunity structure (lower extrinsic risk). Qualitative and quantitative data from 678 Indo-Fijian children suggest that, contingent on parental capacities, parents migrate in response to their perceptions of decreased opportunities that manifest as high levels of extrinsic risk in rural environments. Parental investment in quality and quantity corresponds to parental perceptions of extrinsic risk, which in turn correspond to migration status, indicating that parental strategies do respond to perceived limits on investment payoffs.

Student Perceptions of the School Environment and Its Influence on Nutrition and Physical Activity

Erica V. Lamson et al. — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:54:51 PDT

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how the school environment impacts students’ nutrition and physical activity. The results informed development of environmental interventions in a community-based participatory research study. In spring 2003, seven focus groups were conducted with 43 students at one ethnically diverse, urban high school. Students answered semi-structured questions about the nutrition and physical activity environment and suggested policy and environmental changes to facilitate healthy eating and physical activity. Resulting transcripts were coded and analyzed for emergent themes using qualitative research software, N6. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using the check-coding method. Final agreement was 94%. These nutrition themes were identified: 1) Cafeteria food is perceived as having low quality and little variety; 2) The open-campus policy allows students access to off-campus vendors perceived as providing better variety and quality; 3) Cost, convenience, and sensory characteristics determine food choice; 4) Limited availability of healthy food and abundance of unhealthy food are barriers to eating healthy; 5) Increasing cafeteria food quality and variety and increasing healthy food options in vending machines would facilitate healthy eating. These physical activity themes were identified: 1) Physical activity occurs in gym classes, sports teams, and independently when school facilities are open; 2) Availability of activities and peer participation encourage physical activity; 3) Poor attitudes among peers discourage participation; 4) Increasing opportunities for activity and access to school facilities would facilitate physical activity. These results are being used by the school community to develop effective environmental and policy approaches to obesity prevention.

Indo-Fijian Children’s BMI in the Context of Urbanization, Embodied Capital, and Food Choice Trade-offs

Dawn B. Neill — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:54:49 PDT

Health research has shown that overweight and obesity in children and adults are becoming significant public health problems in the developing world. Evidence suggests that this phenomenon is more marked in urban than rural areas and may be associated with modernization. However, the underlying reasons for this nutrition transition remain unclear. Dietary shifts, often in conjunction with income and time constraints in urban environments, may entail a greater reliance on more convenient sugar and fat-dense food. Also, the necessity of labor-intensive agricultural work to meet rural subsistence needs is supplanted in urban environments by sedentary work. This paper extends the application of human behavioral ecology theory into the realm of international development and policy by applying Kaplan’s embodied capital theory to explore differences in food habits and nutritional status of Indo-Fijian children within the context of urbanization. Urban high-embodied-capital women demonstrate higher rates of wage-earning employment than urban low-embodied-capital or rural women. Findings indicate that urban high-embodied-capital households spend significantly more on food purchases, purchase a greater proportion of processed foods, and have children with higher body mass indexes (BMI) than do urban low-embodied-capital or rural households. This suggests that urban high-embodied-capital mothers, who tend to be employed, may be making trade-offs between income and food choices.

Maternal Age, Paternal Age and Effective Fecundability in Rural Bangladesh

EK Brunson et al. — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:54:46 PDT

Effective fecundability is defined as the monthly probability for a conception that leads to a livebirth. One method of assessing effective fecundability is by examining lengths of first birth intervals. Using demographic records of marriage and birth, we examine the effects of maternal age, paternal age, mother’s education, and religion on effective fecundability in a rural region of Bangladesh. Data came from a prospective demographic and health survey conducted in Matlab thana by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. Marriage and birth records from 1975 to 1982 were used to generate first birth intervals. A parametric hazards model of fecundability was used to simultaneously estimate primary sterility, effective fecundability as well as effects of fixed and time varying covariates on effective fecundability. Marriage records were matched for 10,255 pairs of partners, including exact times to birth and observations right censored by death, divorce, migration, or the end of record-keeping. The age range at marriage for wives was 12 and 25 years. The prevalence of primary sterility was 5.1% (± 2.6% SE). The estimate of effective fecundability was 0.053 (±0.002). The most parsimonious model showed reduced fecundability for women under 16 years and highest fecundability from 17 to 19 years, relative to the reference age group (20 to 25) years. Fecundability was significantly higher for father’s age 25 to 29 years relative to other ages. Religion and mother’s education were not associated with fecundability. The results suggest that Bangladeshi women have a higher prevalence of sterility and lower effective fecundability compared to other samples in developing settings.

Offspring Contributions to Household Economy by Age and Sex Among the Khasi of N.E. India

D. B. Neill et al. — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:54:43 PDT

Productive work or alloparenting by offspring appears to be dependent on the environmental context and subsistence strategy of a society as well as the need for such labor. We ask if gender as well as age are associated with work activities in our study subjects (n=1455 offspring) of Khasi families in N. E. India who have traditionally been swidden agriculturalists and now live in a mixed subsistence/cash economy. Fertility is fairly high (Total Fertility Rate = 6.7 children) and offspring often remain in the parental home into adult ages so offspring contributions to domestic work, child care and agriculture may be important. Data on children's work activities (child watching/carrying, cleaning, sweeping, cooking, clothes washing, shopping, water carrying, fuel collection/processing, agricultural work, fishing, and hunting) indicate if done or not by each child. Sex and age are recorded within each household roster. We find activities tend to peak in frequency at certain age periods. Activities done preferentially by females which peak during pubertal years (ages 12-14) are child watching/carrying, cleaning and sweeping; during subadult years (ages 15-24) are shopping, cooking, and washing clothes. For males, no activities peak during pubertal years, fishing peaks in subadult years, and hunting and fuel collection during adult years (ages 25-34). For both genders, water carrying peaks as subadults, and agricultural work and fuel processing peak as adults. All age and sex distributions are significant at p<0.01.

Some female sex-specific work activities appear to peak at earlier ages than do male activities, although other activities requiring more strength and knowledge peak in subadult and adult years. Males do not develop peak work contributions until subadult and adult ages.