Reproductive Investment and Health Costs in Roma Women
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In this paper, we examine whether variation in reproductive investment affects the health of Roma women using a dataset collected through original anthropological fieldwork among Roma women in Serbia. Data were collected in 2014–2016 in several Roma semi-urban settlements in central Serbia. The sample consisted of 468 Roma women, averaging 44 years of age. We collected demographic data (age, school levels, socioeconomic status), risk behaviors (smoking and alcohol consumption), marital status, and reproductive history variables (the timing of reproduction, the intensity of reproduction, reproductive effort and investment after birth), in addition to self-reported health, height, and weight. Data analyses showed that somatic, short-term costs of reproduction were revealed in this population, while evolutionary, long-term costs were– contrariwise, Roma women in poor health contributed more to the gene pool of the next generation than their healthy counterparts. Our findings appear to be ...consistent with simple trade-off models that suggest inverse relationships between reproductive effort and health. Thus, personal sacrifice–poor health as an outcome–seems crucial for greater reproductive success.
Keywords:
Roma / women / reproductive investment / healthSource:
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2017, 14, 11, 1337-Publisher:
- MDPI
Funding / projects:
Note:
- This article belongs to the Special Issue Roma Health
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14111337
ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601
WoS: 000416545200053
Scopus: 2-s2.0-85033576835
Institution/Community
Етнографски институт САНУ / Institute of Ethnography SASATY - JOUR AU - Čvorović, Jelena AU - Coe, Kathryn PY - 2017 UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/11/1337/htm UR - https://dais.sanu.ac.rs/123456789/10293 AB - In this paper, we examine whether variation in reproductive investment affects the health of Roma women using a dataset collected through original anthropological fieldwork among Roma women in Serbia. Data were collected in 2014–2016 in several Roma semi-urban settlements in central Serbia. The sample consisted of 468 Roma women, averaging 44 years of age. We collected demographic data (age, school levels, socioeconomic status), risk behaviors (smoking and alcohol consumption), marital status, and reproductive history variables (the timing of reproduction, the intensity of reproduction, reproductive effort and investment after birth), in addition to self-reported health, height, and weight. Data analyses showed that somatic, short-term costs of reproduction were revealed in this population, while evolutionary, long-term costs were– contrariwise, Roma women in poor health contributed more to the gene pool of the next generation than their healthy counterparts. Our findings appear to be consistent with simple trade-off models that suggest inverse relationships between reproductive effort and health. Thus, personal sacrifice–poor health as an outcome–seems crucial for greater reproductive success. PB - MDPI T2 - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health T1 - Reproductive Investment and Health Costs in Roma Women SP - 1337 VL - 14 IS - 11 DO - 10.3390/ijerph14111337 UR - https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_10293 ER -
@article{ author = "Čvorović, Jelena and Coe, Kathryn", year = "2017", abstract = "In this paper, we examine whether variation in reproductive investment affects the health of Roma women using a dataset collected through original anthropological fieldwork among Roma women in Serbia. Data were collected in 2014–2016 in several Roma semi-urban settlements in central Serbia. The sample consisted of 468 Roma women, averaging 44 years of age. We collected demographic data (age, school levels, socioeconomic status), risk behaviors (smoking and alcohol consumption), marital status, and reproductive history variables (the timing of reproduction, the intensity of reproduction, reproductive effort and investment after birth), in addition to self-reported health, height, and weight. Data analyses showed that somatic, short-term costs of reproduction were revealed in this population, while evolutionary, long-term costs were– contrariwise, Roma women in poor health contributed more to the gene pool of the next generation than their healthy counterparts. Our findings appear to be consistent with simple trade-off models that suggest inverse relationships between reproductive effort and health. Thus, personal sacrifice–poor health as an outcome–seems crucial for greater reproductive success.", publisher = "MDPI", journal = "International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health", title = "Reproductive Investment and Health Costs in Roma Women", pages = "1337", volume = "14", number = "11", doi = "10.3390/ijerph14111337", url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_10293" }
Čvorović, J.,& Coe, K.. (2017). Reproductive Investment and Health Costs in Roma Women. in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health MDPI., 14(11), 1337. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14111337 https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_10293
Čvorović J, Coe K. Reproductive Investment and Health Costs in Roma Women. in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017;14(11):1337. doi:10.3390/ijerph14111337 https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_10293 .
Čvorović, Jelena, Coe, Kathryn, "Reproductive Investment and Health Costs in Roma Women" in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14, no. 11 (2017):1337, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14111337 ., https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_10293 .