Marital Form and Infant Survival Among the Mende of Rural Upper Bambara Chiefdom, Sierra Leone

Document Type

Article

Authors

Barry L. Isaac, University of Cincinnatic, Cincinnati, Ohio
William E. Feinbert, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

Abstract

This article explores the possible relationship between marital form (monogamy versus polygyny) and reproductive success as measured by survival to 18 months among the live issue of 65 Mende women in nine villages of Upper Bambara Chiefdom, Sierra Leone. Using logit analysis, a version of log-linear analysis, the authors treat child survivorship to 18 months as the dependent variable and the age and marital form of the mother as independent variables. Although the indpendent variables are themselves strongly related (p < .001 as measured by x2), the survival of children to age 18 months is statistically independent of the age and marital situation of their mothers (p = .477 as measured by x2)-

Recommended Citation

Isaac, Barry L. and Feinbert, William E. (1982) "Marital Form and Infant Survival Among the Mende of Rural Upper Bambara Chiefdom, Sierra Leone," Human Biology: Vol. 54: Iss. 3, Article 17.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol54/iss3/17