Completed Fertility During the Twentieth Century: An Example From Six Settlements in Northern Greece

Abstract

This study aimed to delineate temporal trends and differentials of completed fertility and their relationship with some characteristics of the marriage system in specific anthropological populations of northern Greece. The analysis was based on the life history of quinquennial and decennial birth cohorts of married women born in the 20th century who reproduced solely within the settlements studied. The variables studied were: children ever born, mean age of mother at first marriage, mean age of mother at first child (live birth), mean age of mother at last child and reproductive span. The results indicated that there were significant differences in the demographic characteristics of marriage and that there was an ongoing fertility transition in the 20th century in the populations studied. The mechanism of fertility decline was connected with the gradual reduction of the mean age of the mother at last child, the parallel decrease in the mean age at childbearing and a shortening of the reproductive span. Fertility levels at all times maintained a dynamic character imposed by local cultural, economic and social structures, which, in turn, were part of broader national and international structures, in all the populations studied. A strong trend of convergence of fertility levels was observed among the populations studied.

Studying the seasonality of conceptions among five distinct population subgroups in mainland Greece: a story of similarities and variability

“…In Metsovo, where fertility transition started earlier, period TFRs fluctuated between 2.8 and 2.6 children per woman in the period 1951-1964 (Zafeiris et al 2015). In Dion, fertility remained high for the cohorts reproducing during this era (Zafeiris and Kaklamani 2019). After 1964 and until 1980, fertility declined rapidly in all the populations studied, and a new demographic regime of low fertility appeared in the 1980s.…”

“…In this system, the couple, their male progenies with their wives and grandchildren, often share the same room under the same roof, which is divided into individual spaces usually using rugs. If the family's economic situation allows, new adjusted rooms can be built, in which the two spouses live together with their children, but separately from the other couples of the extended family, yet still under a common or neighbouring roof (see Zafeiris et al, 2015;Zafeiris and Kaklamani, 2019;Zafeiris, 2020;Zafeiris and Koukli, 2022). Obviously, in this limited space, considering that the bad weather inhibits life outside home, the possibilities for sexual relations are significantly limited.…”

“…Overtime, socio-economic conditions, cultural factors and reproductive practices change, and tend to differentiate the observed seasonal patterns of conceptions and livebirths. Hence, the analysis refers to four discrete periods 1951-1964, 1965-1980, 1981-1992 and 1993-2002 which essentially correspond to the fertility transition in these populations (Zafeiris et al 2015;Zafeiris and Kaklamani 2019;Zafeiris 2020). The fertility transition in all of these populations led to the decrease of the total fertility rate, with various rhythms.…”

“…The fourth population is a lowland population residing in Dion, in the Department of Pieria, in the Region of Eastern Macedonia. It consists of a mixture of locals and newcomers from the Mounts Olympus and Pindus (Vlachs and Sarakatsans), as well as of Refugees from Asia Minor and Euxinus Pontus (see Zafeiris and Kaklamani 2019). These populations have undergone significant social, economic and cultural changes over time (see Table 1).…”

Grandmaternal childcare and kinship laterality. Is rural Greece exceptional?

“…This hypothesis is not borne out by the SHARE data, however: the youngest child was under 6 years of age in 52.0% of the eligible grandchild sets in Waves 1 and 2, and in 52.8% in Wave 6. A substantial, gradual decline in fertility has been underway in Greece, especially in rural areas, for at least a century (Zafeiris & Kaklamani, 2019), which has presumably reduced the proportions of grandmothers who have both uterine and agnatic grandchildren for whom they might have provided care; it is not obvious, however, why such changes would engender a reversal (rather than simply a dampening) of laterality biases.…”