Abstract
In human populations, variation in mate availability has been linked to various biological and social outcomes, but the possible effect of mate availability on health or survival has not been studied. Unbalanced sex ratios are a concern in many parts of the world, and their implications for the health and survival of the constituent individuals warrant careful investigation. We indexed mate availability with contextual sex ratios and investigated the hypothesis that the sex ratio at sexual maturity might be associated with long-term survival for men. Using two unique data sets of 7,683,462 and 4,183 men who were followed for more than 50 years, we found that men who reached their sexual maturity in an environment with higher sex ratios (i. e., higher proportions ofreproductively ready men) appeared to suffer higher long-term mortality risks than those in an environment with lower sex ratios. Mate availability at sexual maturity may be linked via several biological and social mechanisms to long-term survival in men.
The text of this article is only available as a PDF.
References
Angrist, J. (
2002
). How Do Sex Ratios Affect Marriage and Labor Markets? Evidence From America’s Second Generation
. Quarterly Journal of Economics
, 117
, 997
–1038
. 10.1162/003355302760193940Attane, I. (
2006
). The Demographic Impact of a Female Deficit in China, 2000–2050
. Population and Development Review
, 32
, 755
–70
. 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2006.00149.xBartley, M., Martikainen, P., Shipley, M., & Marmot, M. (
2004
). Gender Differences in the Relationship of Partner’s Social Class to Behavioural Risk Factors and Social Support in the Whitehall II Study
. Social Science & Medicine
, 59
, 1925
–36
. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.03.002Block, G., Matanoski, G.M., & Seltser, R.S. (
1983
). A Method for Estimating Year of Birth Using Social Security Number
. American Journal of Epidemiology
, 118
, 377
–95
.Burley, N. (
1985
). Leg-Band Color and Mortality Patterns in Captive Breeding Populations of Zebra Finches
. Auk
, 102
, 647
–51
.Christakis, N., & Allison, P. (
2006
). Mortality After the Hospitalization of a Spouse
. New England Journal of Medicine
, 354
, 719
–30
. 10.1056/NEJMsa050196Das Gupta, M. (
2006
). Cultural Versus Biological Factors in Explaining Asia’s ‘Missing Women’: Response to Oster
. Population and Development Review
, 32
, 328
–32
. 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2006.00121.xElwert, F., & Christakis, N.A. (
2006
). Widowhood and Race
. American Sociological Review
, 71
, 16
–41
. 10.1177/000312240607100102Fleming, I. (
1996
). Reproductive Strategies of Atlantic Salmon: Ecology and Evolution
. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries
, 6
, 379
–416
. 10.1007/BF00164323Fossett, M.A., & Kiecolt, K.J. (
1991
). A Methodological Review of the Sex Ratio: Alternatives for Comparative Research
. Journal of Marriage and the Family
, 53
, 941
–57
. 10.2307/352999Fossett, M.A., & Kiecolt, K.J. (
1993
). Mate Availability and Family Structure Among African Americans in U.S. Metropolitan Areas
. Journal of Marriage and the Family
, 55
, 288
–302
. 10.2307/352802Goodkind, D. (
1997
). The Vietnamese Double Marriage Squeeze
. International Migration Review
, 31
, 108
–27
. 10.2307/2547260Guillot, M. 2000. “The Dynamics of the Population Sex Ratio.” PhD dissertation. Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania.
Guttentag, M., & Secord, P.F. (
1983
). Too Many Women: The Sex Ratio Question
. Beverly Hills, CA
: Sage
.Harrison, J. (
1978
). Warning: The Male Sex Role May Be Dangerous to Your Health
. Journal of Social Issues
, 34
, 65
–86
. 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1978.tb02541.xHauser, R.M. and C.L. Roan. 2006. “The Class of 1957 in Their Mid-60s: A First Look.” CDE Working Paper 2006-03. Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Hauser, R.M. and W.H. Sewell [principal investigators]. n.d. Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) [graduates, siblings, and spouses]: 1957–2005, Version 12.23 [machine-readable data file]. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison, WLS [distributor].
Hayward, M.D., & Gorman, B.K. (
2004
). The Long Arm of Childhood: The Influence of Early-Life Social Conditions on Men’s Mortality
. Demography
, 41
, 87
–107
. 10.1353/dem.2004.0005Jaffe, D.H., Eisenbach, Z., Neumark, Y.D., & Manor, O. (
2006
). Effects of Husbands’ and Wives’ Education on Each Other’s Mortality
. Social Science & Medicine
, 62
, 2014
–23
. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.08.030Kiecolt-Glaser, J., & Newton, T. (
2001
). Marriage and Health: His and Hers
. Psychological Bulletin
, 127
, 472
–503
. 10.1037/0033-2909.127.4.472Kiecolt, K.J., & Fossett, M.A. (
1995
). Mate Availability and Marriage Among African Americans: Aggregate- and Individual-Level Analyses
. In Kiecolt, K.J., & Fossett, M.A. (Eds.), The Decline in Marriage Among African Americans
(pp. 121
–35
). New York
: Russell Sage Foundation
.Lampard, R. (
1993
). Availability of Marriage Partners in England and Wales: A Comparison of Three Measures
. Journal of Biosocial Science
, 25
, 333
–50
. 10.1017/S0021932000020678Lauderdale, D.S., Jacobsen, S.J., Furner, S.E., Levy, P.S., Brody, J.A., & Goldberg, J. (
1997
). Hip Fracture Incidence Among Elderly Asian-American Populations
. American Journal of Epidemiology
, 146
, 502
–509
.Lillard, L.A., & Waite, L.J. (
1995
). ‘Til Death Do Us Part: Marital Disruption and Mortality
. American Journal of Sociology
, 100
, 1131
–56
. 10.1086/230634Millesi, E., Huber, S., Dittami, J., Hoffmann, I., & Daan, S. (
1998
). Parameters of Mating Effort and Success in Male European Ground Squirrels, Spermophilus citellus
. Ethology
, 104
, 298
–313
. 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1998.tb00070.xMonden, C.W.S., Lenthe, V., Graaf, F.D., Dirk, N., & Kraaykamp, G. (
2003
). Partner’s and Own Education: Does Who You Live with Matter for Self-Assessed Health, Smoking and Excessive Alcohol Consumption?
. Social Science & Medicine
, 57
, 1901
–12
. 10.1016/S0277-9536(03)00055-8Health, United States, 2003
. (2003
). Atlanta, GA
: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
.Pollet, T.V., & Nettle, D. (
2008
). Driving a Hard Bargain: Sex Ratio and Male Marriage Success in a Historical U.S. Population
. Biology Letters
, 4
(1
), 31
–33
. 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0543Rogers, R.G., Hummer, R.A., & Nam, C.B. (
2000
). Living and Dying in the USA: Behavioral, Health, and Social Differentials of Adult Mortality
. San Diego, CA
: Academic Press
.Seeman, T., McEwen, B., Rowe, J., & Singer, B. (
2001
). Allostatic Load as a Marker of Cumulative Biological Risk: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging
. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
, 98
, 4770
–75
. 10.1073/pnas.081072698Sen, A. (
1992
). Missing Women: Social Inequality Outweighs Women’s Survival in Asia and North Africa
. British Medical Journal
, 304
, 587
–88
. 10.1136/bmj.304.6827.587South, S.J., & Trent, K. (
1988
). Sex Ratios and Women’s Roles: A Cross-National Analysis
. American Journal of Sociology
, 93
, 1096
–115
. 10.1086/228865Stolzenberg, R. (
2001
). It’s About Time and Gender: Spousal Employment and Health
. American Journal of Sociology
, 101
, 61
–100
. 10.1086/323151Trent, K., & South, S.J. (
1989
). Structural Determinants of the Divorce Rate: A Cross-Societal Analysis
. Journal of Marriage and the Family
, 51
, 391
–404
. 10.2307/352502Trovato, F. (
1988
). A Macrosociological Analysis of Change in the Marriage Rate: Canadian Women, 1921–25 to 1981–85
. Journal of Marriage and the Family
, 50
, 507
–21
. 10.2307/352016Umberson, D. (
1992
). Gender, Marital Status and the Social Control of Health Behavior
. Social & Science Medicine
, 34
, 907
–17
. 10.1016/0277-9536(92)90259-S© Population Association of America 2010
2010
Issue Section:
Articles
