1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«In this article, event history analyses are used to compare the impact of parental loss and subsequent family transformations on child survival to age 15 [in the Krummhörn region of East Frisia (Germany) and in the Saint Lawrence Valley in Quebec].» (p. 194)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The data for the first population derive from a family reconstitution study based on church registers, as well as from tax rolls and other records of the Krummhörn region in Ostfriesland (East Frisia, Germany) from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. […] Data for the historical population of Québec come from the Registre de la population du Québec ancien (RPQA), created by the Programme de Recherche en Démographique Historique (PRDH) at the University of Montreal.» (p. 195-196)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«The results of this study indicate that the chances for survival during childhood may be affected by the early loss of a parent in multiple ways. Survival may be affected directly or indirectly, through loss of parental care or through a series of follow-up events and living arrangements, such as the remarriage of the widow, cohabitation with stepparents, the birth of half-siblings, and so on. Yet, of the two possible types of parental loss, only maternal loss shows a universal and consistent effect. In both populations, maternal death incurred direct and dramatic consequences for both boys and girls, which are usually attributed to the lack of maternal breast milk before weaning […] and the lack of maternal care thereafter. Therefore, increased child mortality appears as an inevitable consequence of early maternal loss in historical populations, consistent with the “mechanical scenario.” The impact of paternal loss, however, is less easy to establish and interpret, and thus requires extended discussion.» (p. 204)