Studying the seasonality of conceptions among five distinct population subgroups in mainland Greece: a story of similarities and variability.

The paper studies seasonality of conceptions among five distinct population subgroups of mainland Greece for the period 1951-2002. The populations explored include those residing in Metsovo, Dion, Organi, Kehros, as well as a "General" Sample consisting of persons located in various areas of continental Greece. The populations under investigation present diverse characteristics regarding religion, cultural background, socio-economic status etc. Records of births were derived from the Vital Registration System of the respective municipalities and communities of the populations under research were constructed. The date of child conception was estimated as the recorded date of birth minus 260 days.The analysis focuses, among others, on the construction of seasonal indices, applying a variant ratio to moving averages method which reveal, in relative terms, the seasonality of the phenomenon. Subsequently, these ratios are considered as the dependent variable in regression models while months, expressed in terms of dummy variables, are introduced as predictors. Four main sub-periods are considered; 1951-64, 1965-80, 1981-92 and 1992-2002. The findings show that the extent of seasonality differs between periods as well as between the five population subgroups though the phenomenon becomes less prominent over time in all cases. There is a tendency of an increased number of conceptions among mountainous populations during summer, irrespective of religion or socio-economic status, possibly partly due to environmental factors (i.e. seasonal workload, domestic organisation of extended families, etc). Nevertheless, the mountainous populations differ regarding the intensity and duration of this phenomenon. By contrast, in Dion, a lowland Christian Orthodox population, conceptions increase after Easter and remain elevated until June.

Incomplete reporting of men's fertility in the United States and Britain: a research note.

We evaluate men's retrospective fertility histories from the British Household Panel Survey and the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Further, we analyze the PSID men's panel-updated fertility histories for their possible superiority over retrospective collection. One third to one half of men's nonmarital births and births within previous marriages are missed in estimates from retrospective histories. Differential survey underrepresentation of previously married men compared with previously married women accounts for a substantial proportion of the deficits in previous-marriage fertility. More recent retrospective histories and panel-updated fertility histories improve reporting completeness, primarily by reducing the proportion of marital births from unions that are no longer intact at the survey date.

Fathers and absent fathers: sociodemographic similarities in Britain and the United States.

Using data from the British Household Panel Survey and the National Survey of Families and Households in the United States, we present a sociodemographic profile of fathers and compare the determinants of absent fatherhood in each country. Although fatherhood has a younger profile in the United States, especially for blacks, predictors of fathers' residency with their children are remarkably similar in the two countries. In both countries, the strongest predictor of a father's absence is the parent's relationship to each other at the time of the child's birth. Policy implications of this finding are discussed.