John A. Ballweg

Concept-Scale Interaction with the Semantic Differential Technique

Summary Use of the semantic differential technique has largely been restricted to “paper and pencil” settings and student populations. In this study, adult respondents in an interview setting were asked to evaluate two concepts—use of lake (a) as a source of electric power and (b) as a recreational area—by means of eight seven-point scales. Results indicated considerable conceptscale interaction, suggesting that Osgoods interpretation of the semantic differential may be restricted by both technique of data collection and subpopulation. Respondent hostility might be an intervening variable. The semantic differential technique appeared to yield a preliminary evaluation of the two concepts, suggesting its use as an indicator of orientation.

Parental underinvestment: A link in the fertility-mortality continuum

Selective parental investment in siblings has been used to describe differential mortality rates. Using data from 986 Filipino women who had an average of 4.8 live births, a LISREL and six sets of regression models support the hypothesis that fertility is linked to underinvestment and that mortality, as a consequence, is linked to high birth order. The analysis also identifies intervening factors associated with this relationship. Age of mother at childbirth showed a strong influence on the relationship of birth order and infant and child mortality; correlations are stronger among older than youger mothers. However, even after the effect of age of mother at childbirth was partialled out, the effect of birth order on infant and child mortality remained significant and substantial. The conclusion is that parental underinvestment represents a link between fertility and mortality during infancy and early childhood that has not been described previously. Policy makers appear to have overlooked parental underinvestment in favor of more obvious economic and health mediators.

Trends in Substance Use by U.S. Military Personnel

Changes in the use of illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes by U.S. military personnel are followed through the decade of the 1980s. Using data reported for four worldwide surveys of military personnel during the decade, it was found that drug use declined dramatically while the percentage of military personnel who used alcohol remained about the same. Cigarette smoking declined but not to the level of the civilian population. Service and geographic distribution of substances are examined along with demographic characteristics of users.

Death loss, fetal wastage and completed family size.

An examination of pregnancy histories for 969 Filipino women assessed the extent to which pregnancy wastage or loss of a live born child influenced completed family size. Respondents were ever married women 45-49 years of age at the time of the survey; most respondents were beyond their childbearing years. It was found that 56% of the women lost at least 1 pregnancy or a live born child. While it might be expected that the loss of a child would lower completed family size the findings indicated that women who reported loss of 1 or more children had larger completed families than their counterparts who sustained no miscarriages or childhood deaths. Implications of fertility-mortality relationships are discussed. (authors)

Unwanted pregnancies and unwanted fertility: Conceptual variations

The concepts of pregnancy unwantedness and unwanted fertility have a range of definitions, nor are reports consistent for concept use. This report examines various definitions and their application. Considering a measure of unwantedness as underinvestment in the child, a scale is described which examines the extent to which the unwanted child may be subjected to underinvestment. The hypothesis of an association between unwantedness and underinvestment was not supported. The conclusion is that unwantedness requires conceptual standardization and a behavioral definition for sociological use.

Family planning method change and dropouts in the Philippines

Pregnancy prevention techniques are classified into 2 general categories as the coitus-connected and coitus-independent. The former include rhythm, withdrawal, condom, and foam while the latter include such methods as oral contraception, IUDs, and male and female sterilization. The use of contraception hinges on motivation and the acceptability of the method. This article is a report on 1 particular study where data was collected in 1971-1972 through 1321 interviews resulting from a series of audits of family planning clinics with the purpose of determining the accuracy of information reported in clinic records and ascertaining the number of acceptors who had discontinued use of a family planning method or moved from the area served by the clinic. The findings revealed that: 1) Coitus-independent methods are more effective in the prevention of pregnancy that coitus-dependent ones, 2) Women who change from a coitus-dependent method are more likely to change to a coitus-independent method, while the changes from the latter method are usually to a method in the same general category, 3) In this population the IUD provides the maximum protection from conception with the minimum likelihood of program dropout.

Deviant fertility in China: a theoretical approach

While most Western and Chinese scholars emphasize the success of Chinese family planning programs, this study focuses on fertility that violates family planning regulations in China. The concept of “deviant fertility” here refers to reproductive behavior that violates current family size norms by producing more than the accepted number of children. An approach that bridges the sociology of fertility and the sociology of deviance is established. Specifically, the theoretical framework is based on the cultural conflict perspective of deviance developed by Thornsten Sellin (1938). The normative conflict concerning fertility in general and confrontations between traditional large family norms and current family planning rules in China are explicated.

Demographic and sociological determinants of alcohol use by U.S. military personnel

Using a worldwide sample of U.S. military personnel, this study examines the demographic characteristics and the drink‐related determinants of alcohol use. Scales are developed to describe four use predictors: personal benefit, problem situation, peer influence, and normative definition. Findings using multiple regression and path analysis indicate that personal benefit is the most important determinant in predicting alcohol use. The effects of problem situations on alcohol use are largely mediated by personal benefit. Moreover, peer influence not only directly influences alcohol use, but also mediates the effect of age on alcohol use. Inconsistent with previous research with civilian populations, normative definitions of alcohol use were not found to be a good predictor of alcohol use.

Selection of a family planning method: a Philippine example

A 10% sample of 34,866 new clients was tabulated in order to determine the differential characteristics of women selecting 1 of 4 types of contraception - the oral contraceptive, IUD, rhythm, and other methods. The data were obtained from the National Family Planning Record Keeping System of the Republic of the Philippines for the period April-June 1970. It was learned that 53% of the women accept the oral contraceptive, 19.8% the IUD, 16.8% rhythm, and 10.4% other methods. Young women were significantly more inclined to accept the oral contraceptive, while older women were more inclined to accept an IUD, rhythm, or another method. Women with no children or fewer than 3 children tended to accept the oral contraceptive; women with 3 or more children were more inclined to use the IUD. The use of other methods was most prevalent among older women with 5 or more children. No significant relationship was found between the level of educational attainment of the mother or the occupation of the husband and the family planning method chosen.

Mortality/Fertility Relationships in the Dominican Republic

An examination of fertility among women in the Dominican Republic who lost children compared to women who did not lose children indicated that women with loss had more births and more living children than women without a loss. Prolonged breast feeding did not appear to explain differences. A number of sociodemographic differences were evident between the 2 groups. The median age at 1st marital union was at least 1 year lower for each 5-year age group of women who experienced child loss than that for women without such experience. Women who had a child loss experience had less formal education that those who had not experiences a child loss. Similar differences in the occupations of th husbands of these 2 groups can be found. 48% of husbands whose wives had mortality experience were engaged in agriculture as overseers peasants or laborers; 6% of the husbands with no mortality experience were in professional or technical occupations.