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PARENTAL STATUS AND GENDER PREFERENCES FOR CHILDREN: IS DIFFERENTIAL FERTILITY STOPPING CONSISTENT WITH THE TRIVERS–WILLARD HYPOTHESIS?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2012

MARTIN KOLK  and
SEBASTIAN SCHNETTLER
MARTIN KOLK
Affiliation:
Demography Unit, Department of Sociology, Stockholm University, Sweden
SEBASTIAN SCHNETTLER
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Konstanz, Germany
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Summary

Based on evolutionary reasoning, Trivers & Willard (1973) predicted status-biased sex composition and parental investment with son-preferencing effects in higher, and daughter-preferencing effects in lower status groups. Previous research shows mixed results. This study uses event-history methods and Swedish register data to study one possible mechanism in isolation: do parents in different status groups vary in their proclivities to continue fertility based on the sex composition of previous offspring? The results show no support for the Trivers–Willard hypothesis on a wide range of different status indicators. Future research on the stated hypothesis should focus on physiological rather than behavioural mechanisms.

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Articles
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Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 45 , Issue 5 , September 2013 , pp. 683 - 704
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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