The effect of height on family formation in rural Spain, birth-cohorts 1835-1975

Marco-Gracia, Francisco J. (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: This article examines the relationship between the height of adult males and marital outcomes, including likelihood of marrying, age at marriage, and marital fertility, in rural Spain. For this analysis, a sample of 4, 501 men born between 1835 and 1975 living in 14 villages in northeastern Spain was taken. Previous research has shown that shorter individuals are less likely to marry. However, it is still disputed whether differences exist in the timing of marrying based on height, and little attention has been paid to the effect(s) of height on offspring. Family data were obtained from parish records and interviews with individuals and their families, while height data were obtained from military records, with individuals in Spain being conscripted at the age of 21 years. The data were linked according to nominative criteria using family reconstitution methods. The results confirm that shorter individuals were less likely to marry. Individuals of medium and medium-high height were the first to marry, with a small gap between them and shorter individuals. With regard to marital fertility, no difference in terms of average fertility by height were found, but there were small differences in timing of childbirth, possibly as a result of delayed marriage.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1017/S0021932022000116

Año: 2022

Publicado en: JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE 55, 3 (2022), 574–591
ISSN: 0021-9320

Factor impacto JCR: 1.5 (2022)

Categ. JCR: DEMOGRAPHY rank: 22 / 30 = 0.733 (2022) - Q3 - T3
Categ. JCR: SOCIAL SCIENCES, BIOMEDICAL rank: 39 / 45 = 0.867 (2022) - Q4 - T3

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 4.9 - Medicine (Q2) - Social Sciences (Q1)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.467 - Social Sciences (miscellaneous) (Q2) - Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health (Q3)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA-FEDER/S55-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MCIU/PID2019-109336GB-I00
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/PGC2018-095529-B-I00

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Hª e Instituc.Económ. (Dpto. Economía Aplicada)