Is Fertility Behavior in Our Genes? Findings from a Danish Twin Study

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4795331
AutoresHans‐peter Kohler (0000-0003-0639-4349, Max Planck Society, autor de correspondencia), Joseph L Rodgers (0000-0002-8615-6713, University of Oklahoma, autor de correspondencia), Kaare Christensen (0000-0002-5429-5292, autor de correspondencia)
Año1999
Volumen25
Número2
Páginas253-288
Fecha de publicación1999-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPopulation and Development Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0098-7921 • E-ISSN: 1728-4457
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1728-4457.1999.00253.x
OpenAlexW2109418124
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas93
Referencias citadas55

This article investigates the fertility of Danish twins born during the periods 1870-1910 and 1953-64 in order to pursue two central questions for understanding human reproduction: Do genetic dispositions influence fertility and fertility-related behavior? Does the relevance of the "nature versus nurture" debate shift over time or with demographic regimes? The authors find that genetic influences on fertility exist, but that their relative magnitude and pattern are contingent on gender and on the socioeconomic environment experienced by cohorts. Among females born in 1880-90 and after 1955, about 30-50 percent of the variance in fertility is due to genetic influences; these influences are substantially smaller for earlier and for interim birth cohorts. Male fertility is generally subject to smaller genetic and larger shared-environment effects than female fertility. Because genetic effects are most prevalent in situations with deliberately controlled fertility and relatively egalitarian socioeconomic opportunities, the authors propose that the genetic dispositions affect primarily fertility behavior and motivations for having children. Analyses of fertility motivations, measured by age of first attempt to have a child, support this interpretation

Affect (linguistics) · Biology · Danish · Fertility · Geography · Interim · Nature versus nurture · Population · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Cognitive Abilities and Testing · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Genetics · Psychology