Changing sex ratio of mortality in the Semai Senoi, 1969-1987
Fix, A.G.
Human Biology 63(2): 211-220
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0018-7143 PMID: 2019414 DOI: 10.2307/41464164Document Number: 318090
A researcher applied data on the Semai population from 1969 and 1989 censuses to life tables to demonstrate that the Semai population in Malaysia contradict a simple developmental stage belief of sex differences in mortality. During this study period, the Semai continued to be unbiased in sex preference of children and no biased behavior toward 1 sex led to sex differential mortality. Further they were not biased with respect to sex for hospital treatment. In fact, both males and females continued to experience high infant and child mortality indicating both sexes received inadequate care. Yet maternal mortality fell between 1969-1989. This happened because mothers did used hospital services. In fact the major change in mortality only occurred in women of reproductive age. The sex ratio of mortality improved from 0.768-0.997 for 15-44 years olds between 1969-1989. Moreover the proportion of females =or+ 15 years old increased considerably because of a strong decrease in female deaths. Besides the fall in maternal mortality occurred even though total fertility increased 30% (5.73-7.42). This stressed the key role health care played in reducing the female death rate among the Semai. Usually demographers have witnessed an increase in maternal mortality risk when fertility increases, yet among the Semai the opposite occurred. Thus the modernization/transition theory does not apply for the Semai. Further the Semai continued to have a very low life expectancy (36 years in 1987) which was less than that of less developed countries. Moreover the Semai witnessed a distinctive decrease in female mortality without prior modernization of overall mortality. This study suggests that historical shifts in demographic measures are not single uniform changes but complex components with different causal factors operating at least semiindependently.