Ethnic differentials in birth outcome are significant. Currently, a black infant is at twice the risk of dying before age one than either a non-Hispanic white or an Hispanic infant. The role of culture has received little attention as a determinant of infant mortality. / Culture is defined as an "evaluative conversation constructed by actors out of the raw materials afforded by tradition and ongoing experience" (Hammel, 1990). This definition is consistent with that of race and ethnicity as socially constructed concepts (Bean and Tienda, 1987; Hummer, 1993a). Thus, it is argued that some observed differences related to infant mortality among ethnic groups result from different cultural backgrounds. / Family structure, arguably a cultural characteristic, is expected to have an impact on birth outcome. The linkages between family structure and birth outcome are availability of financial resources and role models for observational learning (Bandura, 1977). Ethnic differences in the likelihood of births to unwed mothers is also viewed as culturally based. Leslie (1995) suggests that African and African American culture views out-of-wedlock births as "mistakes", not as "sins". Thus, unwed motherhood represents a "normative" state when viewed from an Afrocentric perspective. The final cultural variable, financial aid from relatives, is included to partially compensate for the fact that our primary family composition measure is household-based. / Cultural, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are seen as prior determinants of birth outcome. Intermediate factors include socio-demographic characteristics, maternal behaviors and attitudes, and maternal health. Proximate determinants are health care and infant birth weight. The outcome variable is infant mortality which is grouped into three categories: (1) lived, (2) died from endogenous causes, and (3) died from exogenous causes. / The model is tested using the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey. Logistic regression is used to fit the data to the model. / This dissertation contributes to the study of infant mortality by conceptually linking cultural practices and behaviors to birth outcomes. It develops a multidimensional set of household-based family structure variables and conceptually links them to birth outcome. It tests the existence of these linkages on samples of non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Mexican Americans, the three largest ethnic groups in the U.S. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: A, page: 3326. / Major Professor: Isaac W. Eberstein. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77538 |
| Contributors | Schafer, Edward Allen., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 146 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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