Influence of family tradition on reproductive behavior of Gypsy population.
BACKGROUND
Stability of traditional opinion in different ethnic communities determines to a great degree the demographic behavior of their members.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the influence of family traditions and system of values on the reproduction of gypsy population.


METHODS
The opinions of 495 Gypsy women in reproductive age was studied by direct individual questionnaire. The answers characterizing the reproductive behavior of two successive generations were analyzed. The following statistical analyzes were applied: descriptive statistics, chi-square and t-tests. All p-values are two-tailed. The statistical analyses were made on a PC using SPSS 5.0.2.


RESULTS
Mean age at marriage in different generations under study was similar (it is 15.50 +/- 0.10 years in the present generation vs. 15.58 +/- 0.09 years in the previous generation, p > 0.05). The same is valid for the mean age at the first birth (16.98 +/- 0.11 years vs. 17.04 +/- 0.10 years, respectively, p > 0.05). However, there was a statistically significant difference in the mean number of live-births between the generations (2.37 +/- 0.05 vs. 4.10 +/- 0.09, respectively, p < 0.001). The latter finding might be explained by fact that the women from the present generation are still in their reproductive period.


CONCLUSIONS
It is obvious that family traditions may have, to a certain extent, an influence on the patterns of reproductive behavior in gypsy population. These traditions represent an indispensable part of their lifestyle and their intentions to have many children.
Semerdjieva
M
M
Department of Social Medicine, Higher Medical Institute, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Mateva
N
N
Dimitrov
I
I
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006178:Romani People; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*