THE DECLINE OF FERTILITY IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN REGIONS

An investigation of the decline of fertility (FT) in the Southern Appalachian'Mountain Region. Trends in Southern Appalachian FT were studied by computing FT rates of the white pop of the 190 counties included in the region for the yrs 1930, 1940, 1950, & 1960. 4 measures of FT were used: (...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social forces 1963-10, Vol.42 (1), p.89-96
Main Authors: d, Thomas R, DeJong, Gordon F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Appalachia/Appalachian/Appalachians
Fertility
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Summary:An investigation of the decline of fertility (FT) in the Southern Appalachian'Mountain Region. Trends in Southern Appalachian FT were studied by computing FT rates of the white pop of the 190 counties included in the region for the yrs 1930, 1940, 1950, & 1960. 4 measures of FT were used: (1) the crude birth rate, (2) the child-woman ratio, (3) the general FT rate, & (4) the general FT rate indirectly standardized to the age distribution of US white F's 15-44 yrs old in 1950. The data indicated a recent marked decline in Southern Appalachian FT to the nat'l average. Pearsonian r coefficients supported the hypothesis that the decline in FT was associated with net out-migration, which is highly selective of young adults. However, demographic structural changes attributable to net migration did not account for the greater part of the decline. This finding suggested the importance of changes in related att's & values in FT decline. The ecological pattern of declining FT also suggested the saliency of attitude & value changes by revealing lowest rates in the metropolitan areas & in the more prosperous valley regions, while highest rates continued in the highland areas. G. F. DeJong.
ISSN:0037-7732