Research Article

Cultural Inheritance and Fertility Outcomes: An Analysis from Evolutionary and Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Table 1

Descriptive statistics for variables used in the analysis: US females, 2002-2003.

VariablesMean (or %)S.E.

Dependent variables
 CEB1.30.037,642
 If R had 1st birth before marriage5,213
  Yes68.7
  No31.3
 Duration from marriage to 1st birth58.01.554,126
 If event censored2,694
  Yes34.7
  No65.3
Independent variables
 Same religion 7,643
  Yes72.9
  No27.1
 Number of children born to female parent 3.50.037,634
 If R’s parents married when R was born7,580
  Yes87.4
  No12.6
Other variables
Demographic factors
 Age (mean)30.00.177,643
 Race7,643
  Hispanic14.8
  Non-Hispanic white 64.7
  Non-Hispanic black14.0
  Non-Hispanic other 5.6
 R’s religious denomination when R was raised up7,619
  No religion7.8
  Catholic35.1
  Baptist/Southern Baptist19.1
  Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Arian18.4
  Fundamental Protestant5.9
  Other Protestant denomination5.6
  Protestant-no specific denomination2.8
  Other non-Christian religion5.4
 R’s present religious denomination7,620
  No religion14.1
  Catholic28.7
  Baptist/Southern Baptist16.9
  Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Arian15.4
  Fundamental Protestant6.1
  Other Protestant denomination7.4
  Protestant-no specific denomination5.5
  Other non-Christian religion5.9
 Nativity, if foreign born7,643
  Native born85.7
  Foreign born14.3
 Metropolitan residence
  Yes82.37,643
  No17.7
Family background characteristics
 Education7,643
  Less than high school21.2
  High school graduate28.3
  Some college/college30.4
  University and above20.1
 If R ever worked full time for 6+ months7,636
  Yes74.1
  No25.9
 Combined family income7,643
  $24,999 and under33.1
  $25,000–$49,99930.3
  $50,000–$74,99918.9
  $75,000 and above17.7
Socialization factors
 Mother’s education7,593
  Less than high school24.1
  High school graduate36.1
  Some college/college21.7
  University and above18.1
 Father’s education6,896
  Less than high school23.7
  High school graduate31.5
  Some college/college19.0
  University and above25.8
 Lived in intact family till 187,643
  Yes65.3
  No34.7
Proximate determinants
 If ever used birth control methods7,643
  Yes88.3
  No11.7
 If R ever had sterilization operation7,643
  Yes18.2
  No81.8

Note: some subcategories may not add up to 100% due to rounding. R refers to the respondent. All cases are weighted.