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J Knodel

Publications and source records attributed to J Knodel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Birth spacing and infant mortality: evidence for eighteenth and nineteenth century German villages.

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.

Birth Intervals↗
PubMed1991

Family size and children's education in Thailand: evidence from a national sample.

Analysis of a large, nationally representative survey shows that family size exerts a substantial negative influence on the probability that a child will attend secondary school in Thailand. The primary mechanism underlying this effect is most likely the dilution of familial resources available per child associated with larger numbers of children. The extent and the level of schooling at which this effect operates vary with the household level of wealth and with rural or urban residence. Because fertility decline is leading to a major increase in the proportion of children who come from small families, falling birth rates contribute to increasing educational attainment in Thailand.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Starting, stopping, and spacing during the early stages of fertility transition: the experience of German village populations in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Examination of the reproductive histories of a sample of German married couples during the 18th and 19th centuries provides insights into behavioral changes involved in the shift from natural fertility to deliberate marital fertility control. A simple accounting scheme is used to assess the relative contributions of starting, spacing, and stopping to changes in family size during the initial phases of the fertility transition. The results suggest that in rural Germany, attempts to terminate childbearing prior to the end of the reproductive span were far more important in initiating the onset of fertility transition than efforts to deliberately prolong intervals between births or changes in the timing of the start of childbearing.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Effects of birth rank, maternal age, birth interval, and sibship size on infant and child mortality: evidence from 18th and 19th century reproductive histories.

There has been long-standing interest in the effects of maternal age, birth rank, and birth spacing on infant and child mortality. Contradictory inferences about the role of these factors have arisen on occasion because of the absence of adequate controls, the use of cross-sectional or incomplete reproductive histories, and inattention to the effect of family size goals and birth limitation practices. This study analyzes completed reproductive histories for German village populations in the 18th and 19th centuries, a period when deliberate fertility control was largely absent. Our results confirm previous studies of the association of infant mortality with maternal age, although in the present data these differentials are largely limited to neonatal mortality. They also confirm the importance of birth interval as a factor in infant mortality. Sibship size is positively related to infant mortality even when birth rank is controlled. However, once sibship size is controlled, there are no systematic differences in infant and child mortality by birth order. The mechanisms relating sibship size and mortality are explored.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

From natural fertility to family limitation: the onset of fertility transition in a sample of German villages.

Utilizing data from a sample of German village genealogies, it is possible to document the changes in reproductive patterns on the family level that started to take place in Germany during the nineteenth century and formed the basis for the secular decline in fertility which eventually encompassed the entire country. One striking finding from this study was the substantial diversity among the small sample of villages in terms of the timing of the emergence of family limitation. While couples in all villages who married during the last half of the eighteenth century appeared to be characterized predominantly by natural fertility the emergence of family limitation began as early as the turn of the nineteenth century in some places and as late as the end of the nineteenth century in others. Occupational differentials with respect to family limitation were also examined. There is little evidence that changes in birth spacing played an important part in the initial phase of the fertility trnsition. Rather, the underlying process appears to involve a change from fertility patterns that were characterized by the absence of parity-dependent control to one in which attempts to terminate childbearing in response to the number of children already born becomes widespread.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Breast-feeding and population growth.

Abandonment of breast-feeding in parts of the world where contraception is not in common use may mean both higher birthrates and, especially among the poor, higher infant death rates. In this article estimates of the magnitude of these effects are made.

Amenorrhea↗
PubMed1977

Response reliability in a longitudinal survey in Thailand.

The two rounds of the National Longitudinal Study in Thailand provide a useful opportunity to explore response reliability in a large-scale social and demographic survey in a developing country. The results indicate that nonrandom reliability at the individual level ranged from quite high (for several straightforward, facual questions) to quite low (for most attitudinal questions). There was considerable distributional stability, however, even for many of the variables with low individual-level reliability. In terms of its response reliability, the Thai study compares reasonably well with several leading US fertility surveys. However, in both countries response reliability at the individual level for attitudinal questions is distressingly low. This clearly should be a matter of major concern for social scientists using survey results.

Demography↗
PubMed1977

The impact of breast feeding patterns on the biometric analysis of infant mortality.

A major assumption of the biometric analysis of infant mortality as developed by Bourgeois-Pichat is that the age structure of infant deaths after the first month of life is virtually constant across time and cultures. Reanalysis of results from studies which compare the mortality of infants according to the type of feeding indicated that the relationship between mortality and age within the first year of life followed different patterns for breast fed and artificially fed infants. Historical data for populations with different breast feeding customs reveal similar differences in the age pattern of infant mortality. In populations where breast feeding was uncommon or of very short duration, infant mortality rises particularly steeply during the early months of the first year of life. The age structure of infant mortality in less developed countries where breast feeding is decreasing rapidly may bsimilarly affected. When substantial deviations from the linear relationship are evident, particular caution is required in applying the biometric technique, since in such situations the estimated endogenous mortality is very much affected by the particular set of data points within the first year of life which are chosen for the basis of the estimates.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1976

Preferences for sex of children in Thailand: a comparison of husbands' and wives' attitudes.

Findings on sex preference for children from a Thai national survey show substantial differences for men and women. Married women appear to have a weak or moderate preference for sons, coexisting with a desire to have at least one child of each sex. Their husbands' preference for sons is noticeably more pronounced. Son preference is strongest among urban ethnic Chinese men but is also substantial among ethnic Thai men. There is also some evidence that men like to have at least one daughter. The contrasting patterns of sex preferences found for men and women in Thailand suggest that results can be misleading if studies of sex preferences for children are based exclusively on samples of married women.

Attitude↗
PubMed1975

Fertility and family planning in Thailand: results from two rounds of a national study.

The Longitudinal Study of Social, Economic, and Demographic Change was undertaken during the late 1960s to provide detailed national information on behavior and attitudes related to fertility and family planning in Thailand. Results from the second round of the study indicate that the practice of family planning increased substantially in both rural and urban areas during the three-year interval between the two rounds. During this period, marital fertility registered a decline in the urban areas. This was a result of a small rise in fertility among Bangkok-Thonburi women combined with a sharp decline in fertility among provincial urban women. Because the National Family Planning Program was officially begun at the time of the first round, its role in the increase in contraceptive use is examined. Although the study shows that the desired number of children is substantially below the actual number of children Thai womenhave by the end of their reproductive years, the desired number of children is still well above the number usually considered ideal in developed countries. Nonetheless, changes in reproductive behavior appear to reflect the impact of modernization on Thai society. In urban areas, marital fertility is only moderately high and a substantial proportion of couples practice family planning. Of particular importance over the remainder of the decade will be the reproductive behavior of rural women, who constitute an extremely high proportion of the Thai female population.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Infant feeding practices in Thailand: an update from the 1987 Demographic and Health Survey.

Data from the Thai Demographic and Health Survey, conducted in 1987, confirm evidence from earlier surveys that the decline in the duration of breastfeeding evident during the 1970s came largely to a standstill in the 1980s. In addition, the proportion initiating breastfeeding, while high throughout the period, has increased to the point where, at the national level, it is now close to universal. These changes coincide with efforts, primarily undertaken or coordinated by the Ministry of Public Health, to promote breastfeeding and discourage use of breast milk substitutes. While substantial socioeconomic differentials in the duration of breastfeeding exist, initiation is common even among the groups that breastfeed for the shortest period of time. Breastfed children are generally given supplemental foods or liquids at very early ages. It is common to breastfeed children relatively frequently during the day and evening. Bottles with nipples are used to provide supplementary food to breastfed children by a substantial proportion of mothers. Most use of bottles with breastfed children is not for the provision of infant formula but for other types of supplemental food.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Contraceptive practice and fertility in Thailand: results of the Third Contraceptive Prevalence Survey.

The Third Contraceptive Prevalence Survey in Thailand was conducted in 1984. Results indicate a continuation of the rapid rise in contraceptive use among married couples that has been taking place over the past 15 years. Prevalence levels are approaching those common in economically advanced countries. Sterilization is now the most common method, although a fairly broad range of other methods is also widely used. Only modest levels of unmet need for contraception for either limiting family size or spacing children now exist. Fertility rates have fallen since the previous survey, done three years earlier, but to a lesser extent than would be expected from the increased use of contraceptives. Family size preferences are concentrated at small family sizes. A comparison between the Buddhist majority and Moslem minority, made possible through a special sample design, reveals substantial differences between the two groups. Contraceptive use is lower and fertility levels and preferences are higher among Moslems than among Buddhists.

Adolescent↗