Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-25T13:36:43.102Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Non-Marital Pregnancies in Australia since 1947

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

L. T. Ruzicka
L. T. Ruzicka
Affiliation:
Department of Demography, Australian National University, Canberra
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In this paper, non-marital pregnancies are defined as the sum of ex-nuptial confinements and the first nuptial confinements delivered within the first 8 months of marriage. Analysis is based on the annual statistics of live births, marriages and female non-married population as enumerated in the 1947–71 censuses. The incidence of non-marital pregnancies increased significantly in Australia between 1947 and 1971. This was found to be mainly due to rising ex-nuptial fertility rates, and, to a much lesser extent, to increased frequency of pre-marital pregnancies. A lesser proportion of pregnant non-married women were married before delivery in 1971 than in 1947. Some of the social implications are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , April 1975 , pp. 113 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ABS (1948) Demography Bulletin 1947. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.Google Scholar
ABS (1973) Births 1972. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.Google Scholar
ABS (1974) Census of Population 1971. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.Google Scholar
Basavarajappa, K.G. (1968) Pre-marital pregnancies and ex-nuptial births in Australia, 1911–66. Aust. N.Z.J. Social. 4, 126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, R.R. (1966) Premarital Sex in a Changing Society. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Caldwell, J.C. & Ware, H. (1973) The evolution of family planning in Australia. Popul. Stud. 27, 7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caldwell, J.C., Young, C., Ware, H., Lavis, D. & Davis, A. (1973) Australia: knowledge, attitudes and practice of family planning in Melbourne, 1971. Stud. Fam. Plann. 4, 49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coombs, L.C., Freedman, R., Friedman, J. & Pratt, W.F. (1970) Premarital pregnancy and status before and after marriage. Am. J. Sociol. 75, 800.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cutright, P. (1972) Illegitimacy in the United States: 1920–1968. In: Demographic and Social Aspects of Population Growth. Eds. Westoff, C. and Parke, R. Jr. Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, Research Reports, Vol. 1. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Farber, B. (1964) Family: Organization and Interaction. Chandler, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Goldstein, S. (1967) Premarital pregnancies and out-of-wedlock births in Denmark, 1950–1965. Demography, 4, 925.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartley, S. (1971) Contributions of illegitimate and premaritally conceived legitimate births to total fertility. Soc. Biol. 18, 178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, L. (1956) Anciennes families genevoises. Etudes démographique, XVIe–XXe siècles. INED, Paris.Google Scholar
McDonald, P. (1974) Marriage in Australia. Australian Family Formation Project, Monograph No. 2. Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
Millhouse, R. (1972) Abortion: repeal or reform? Legal questions. In: Abortion: Repeal or Reform? Ed. Haines, N.. Australian National University Centre for Continuing Education, Canberra.Google Scholar
Parker, G.E. (1974) Abortion Law. Australia's Population and the Future, Commissioned Paper No. 16. National Population Inquiry, Canberra.Google Scholar
Peel, J. (1973) Patterns of fertility. J. biosoc. Sci. 5, 241.Google ScholarPubMed
Reis, I.L. (1960) Premarital Sexual Standards in America. Free Press of Glencoe, New York.Google Scholar
Reis, I.L. (1970) Premarital sex as deviant behaviour: an application of current approaches to deviance. Am. social. Rev. 35, 78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruzicka, L.T. (1974) Abortion in South Australia 1970–1972. Mimeographed report, Demography Department, Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
Ruzicka, L.T. & Day, L.H. (1974) Patterns in family formation in Australia. Search, 5, 300.Google Scholar
Ryder, N.B. (1965) The cohort as a concept in the study of social change. Am. social. Rev. 30, 843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schofield, M. (1965) Sexual Behaviour of Young People. Longmans, London.Google Scholar
Shanmugam, N. & Wood, C. (1970) Unwed mothers: a study of 100 girls in Melbourne, Vic. Aust. N.Z. J. Sociol. 6, 51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spencer, G. (1969) Premarital pregnancies and ex-nuptial births in Australia, 1911–66—a comment. Aust. N.Z. J. Sociol. 5, 121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whelpton, P.K. (1949) Cohort analysis of fertility. Am. social. Rev. 14, 735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, P.R. (1972) Abortion law reform: some political, administrative and law enforcement questions. In: Abortion: Repeal or Reform? Ed. Haines, N.. Australian National University Centre for Continuing Education, Canberra.Google Scholar