Pehlivanoglu, Ege (2022) How does human family size vary across social classes and time? Master's Research Project 2, Ecology and Evolution.
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Abstract
Resource availability is one of the key factors that shape human evolution. In humans, resource availability is closely linked to socioeconomic status, which may lead to variation in fertility (number of offspring) and ultimately affects fitness. However, how such associations have varied across demographic and economic development in societies is still unclear. Indeed, in contrast to predictions based on evolutionary theory, human family size began to decrease from high to low fertility and caused the fertility transition. In this study, I investigated the relationship between human family size and the socioeconomic status of individuals through time by using individual records of male fertility from a historical dataset from the 16th to the 20th century in the Swiss canton Glarus, including 15043 males. I used a sociological method for the historical social stratification system (HISCAM - Historical Social Interaction and Stratification Scales). Results suggest no significant relationship exists between family size and socioeconomic status before fertility transition. However, after fertility transition, if an individual's HISCAM score increases as 80%, his family size decreases as one offspring. Additionally, I showed that the paternal HISCAM score partially determines the offspring's HISCAM score, and the strength of this relationship decreases over the fertility transition, likely due to increased social mobility.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master's Research Project 2) |
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| Supervisor name: | Dugdale, H.L. and Young, E.A. |
| Degree programme: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Thesis type: | Master's Research Project 2 |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Sep 2022 10:19 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Sep 2022 10:19 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/28631 |
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