The Study of Reproductive Behavior Set in Cultural Perspective

Abstract

The objective of this research is to develop a methodological proposal for studying the relation between culture and human reproduction, seeking particularly to apply it in the Mexican population, although without excluding its possible utility in other circumstances. With this purpose in mind, the author proposes a definition of culture, based on values and combined with the scheme of intermediate fertility variables developed by K. Davis and J. Blake. The study of culture is defined by the analysis of normative order and actual order, which implicidy or explicitly reflect their characteristic values.

The results of the study suggest that the prevailing Mexican values have favored high fertility. However, there are important differences between population groups (for example, between those with a higher and lower educational level) . There is evidence of contradictory values, both individually and collectively, and of new valuation processes.