Explaining death clustering. Intergenerational patterns in infant mortality, Antwerp, 1846-1905

During the last two decades, scholars found infant mortality to be clustered within families, both for historical (western European) populations and in contemporary less developed regions. Research on this clustering phenomenon mostly focuses on explanatory variables on the level of the family, or more specifically, the level of the mother. This paper looks beyond single households, and studies the intergenerational aspects of infant mortality clustering, this for a historical context. By looking beyond the single household, and investigating infant mortality clustering over generations, priority is given to those mortality determinants that work across generations. This paper uses the Antwerp COR*-database, a kinship based, individual level longitudinal database (the Antwerp district, Belgium, 1846-1905). The analyses suggest that there is a considerable amount of infant mortality clustering that can be explained by clustering of deaths between generations. Although this intergenerational clustering can be attributed to both behavioural (e.g. breastfeeding practices) and biological (e.g. genetic, congenital) determinants, the latter seem to be the most predictive.

ISBN:9789067841573

Jaar van publicatie:2010

Toegankelijkheid:Closed