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TITLE FERTILITY DIFFERENTIAL AMONG ETHNIC GROUPS IN HIGHLAND AREA IN KANCHANABURI DSS, THAILAND
AUTHOR BUDSAKORN PHANIBUD
DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM IN POPULATION AND SOCIAL RESEARCH
FACULTY INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION AND SOCIAL RESEARCH
ADVISOR PIMONPAN ISARABHAKDI
CO-ADVISOR KANCHANA TANGCHONLATIP
 
ABSTRACT
This research studied a sample group of 2,418 married women of reproductive age of 15-49 from the Thai, Burmese, Mon, and Karen ethnic groups who resided in highland areas of Kanchanaburi province. The purpose of this study was 1) To study the pattern and the level of fertility of highland women of different ethnic groups and; 2) To study factors which identify the fertility of each ethnic group, by using secondary data from the 4th Kanchanaburi Population Demographic Surveillance System in 2003 conducted by the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR), Mahidol University. Research results showed that highland women were Thai (60 percent), Burmese (7.9 percent), Mon (12.4 percent) and Karen (19.6 percent). The majority of them was in the age group of 30-39 and most had their first marriages at the age of 18. Family structure was a nuclear family rather than an extended family. Twothirds of the Burmese, Mon, and Karen women were uneducated. The majority of them worked in agriculture with a low economic status. Of those who owned land, the average size of landownership was approximately 30 Rai. Moreover, 86.2 percent used to have contraception and the first birth control method used was contraceptive pills. Each ethnicity had a similar pattern of age-specific fertility rate in which the highest rate occurred between 20 and 24 years old and would gradually decline afterwards. However, Thai and Burmese women had lower agespecific fertility rate and the age-specific fertility rate ended earlier compared to Mon and Karen women. Average fertility of highland women was 3.44. Thai women had the lowest level of 3.00, followed by Mon women (3.19), Burmese women (3.75) and Karen women (4.80). After conducting multiple regression analysis, it was found that important factors affecting fertility level of highland women in Kanchanaburi were ethnicity, age, age at first marriage, number of infant mortalities and stillbirths. On the other hand, social factors and economic factors rarely had an effect on fertility.
KEYWORD FERTILITY DIFFERENTIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS/ KANCHANABURI DSS
 
FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES. MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY. THAILAND
POWERED BY GITC.