Divorce, Remarriage, and Fertility in a Micronesian Population

Rm, Hagaman (1974). "Divorce, Remarriage, and Fertility in a Micronesian Population". Micronesica. 10 (2): 237–242. ISSN 2374-801X.

• Has attachment: File:UEPBJR6N.pdf

Abstract: PIP: Demogrpahic data for the island of Yap in Micronesia indicate 3 significant features: 1) the Yapese have very high marriage and divorce rates; 2) fertility is much higher for women born after 1926 than for older women; and 3) there is a statistically significant negative correlation between number of spouses and number of pregnancies in women born before 1926 and a positive correlation for women born after 1926. It has been argued that this is due to the prevalence of genito-urinary disease in the Yapese population prior to World War 2, since this disease is known to have adverse effects on fertility. The more sexual partners a woman had, the greater her chances of contracting the disease. When the United States government introduced antibiotics to the island in 1946, the situation changed. It is proposed that marriage and divorce customs prior to World war 2 are an example of a maladaptive cultural practice which contributed to the declining population of the island.

Extra details:

PMID: 12257855
QID: Q52887824
CorpusID: 22180946