Opportunity for selection during the 17th-19th centuries in the diocese of Linköping as estimated with Crow's index in a population of clergymen's wives.
Opportunity for selection in human populations can be estimated by means of Crow's index, which is the sum of two indices, one measuring prefertile mortality and the other reproductive performance. Data on the population under study (1,616 clergymen's wives in the diocese of Linköping born 1600-1850) were obtained from a biography of all the clergymen in the diocese during the period of study. The total material was divided into 9 time periods. Crow's index was found to vary over time. This variation was influenced by fluctuations in both index components. A comparison of the indices for the period 1800-1849 with those from two other contemporary Swedish populations, Fleninge (county of Malmöhus) and Nedertorneå (county of Norrbotten), was performed. The highest index was found for Nedertorneå, the lowest for Fleninge, while the index for the Linköping population is intermediate. The bias introduced by different strategies for data collection is discussed.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002977:Clergy / Q000266:history; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D010298:Parity; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012923:Social Class; D013548:Sweden