Navigating New Socio-Demographic Landscapes: Using Anthropological Demography to Understand the ‘Persistence’ of High and Early Fertility Among British Pakistanis

Abstract

Citation for published item:rmpshireD uFF nd flellD wFF nd impsonD fF @PHIPA 9xvigting new soioEdemogrphi lndspes X using nthropologil demogrphy to understnd the persistene9 of high nd erly fertility mong fritish kistnisF9D iuropen journl of popultion G evue europ¡ eenne de h¡ emogrphieD PV @IAF ppF QWETQF Further information on publisher's website: httpXGGdxFdoiForgGIHFIHHUGsIHTVHEHIIEWPSPEz Publisher's copyright statement:The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com Additional information: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. This study contributes to the emerging 'inter-discipline' of anthropological demography, which offers important insights into population processes that neither discipline can do alone.

Why does fertility remain high among certain UK-born ethnic minority women?

“…The latter may also have a direct effect on the childbearing decisions of ethnic Pakistani and Bangladeshi women. Members of the extended family (particularly the mother-in-law) often influence the fertility decisions of young women; they encourage them to become pregnant soon after marriage and to have many children (Hampshire, Blell, and Simpson 2012). A strong preference for sons may also promote high fertility.…”

“…A strong preference for sons may also promote high fertility. Hampshire, Blell, and Simpson (2012) find, for example, that many Pakistani couples continue childbearing until they have at least one son, with two sons being the desired fertility outcome. Cultural and normative factors may thus explain a desire for large families among high-fertility migrant populations in the UK, but various sociocultural practises also ensure that the actual fertility remains high among these populations.…”

“…Second, this study uses multivariate analysis to investigate the role of various factors in explaining fertility patterns among the descendants of immigrants. Various causes of high fertility among descendants of immigrants have been discussed in the literature (Coleman and Dubuc 2010;Hampshire, Blell, and Simpson 2012), but no study has explicitly analysed the role of different factors. Third, this study uses large-scale individual-level longitudinal data, which allows for the calculation of reliable fertility estimates for ethnic minorities and makes it possible to examine the role of various factors in explaining fertility differences between the descendants of immigrants and the native British population.…”

Fertility among descendants of immigrants in Belgium: The role of the partner

“…Nevertheless, neither education nor employment can explain the higher fertility levels of the non-European origin groups, which leads to the conclusion that the fertility differences are in all likelihood at least partially the result of cultural factors. Religion (Philipov and Berghammer 2007), coming from a large family (Penn and Lambert 2002), and the preference for having at least one son (Hampshire, Blell, and Simpson 2012;Kagitcibasi 1982) are some factors that have been suggested to explain these differences and which thus emphasize the importance of socialization in explaining the childbearing behavior of the second generation (e.g., Kulu et al 2017). …”

Union formation and dissolution among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom

“…Although the dynamics of mixed marriages and fertility of ethnic minorities in Britain have been examined (Coleman 1994;Coleman and Dubuc 2010;Feng et al 2012;Hampshire, Blell, and Simpson 2012), the topics of union formation and dissolution, and particularly the rise of cohabitation, have not been covered in the recent literature (for earlier cross-sectional research, see Berrington 1994;1996). This lack of examination is typically attributed to the lack of relevant data.…”