{"id":{"repo_id":"lethbridge","oai_identifier":"oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/5712"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/lethbridge/oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/5712","repository":{"repo_id":"lethbridge","name":"University of Lethbridge","base_url":"https://opus.uleth.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The value of children: alloparenting in Samoa","abstract":"This thesis examines the impact of alloparenting by children in Samoa. Survey data was used to explore whether children’s help in the household (“alloparental care”) influenced female fertility. I showed that children’s help had positive effects on both number of offspring and interbirth interval, but there was no influence of the sex of the first-born offspring; that is, having first-born daughters as potential helpers did not boost female reproduction compared to first-born sons. Building on this finding, I present ethological data on daily activities (including allocare) observed in twenty-five Samoan households in a single village. Contrary to received wisdom, these data showed that a division of labour by sex is not evident in children under the age of fifteen. I suggest this explains the lack of an effect of offspring sex. Finally, understanding the necessity of ecologically valid measures is explored through a series of open-ended interviews with Samoan women.","abstract_html":"This thesis examines the impact of alloparenting by children in Samoa. Survey data was used to explore whether children’s help in the household (“alloparental care”) influenced female fertility. I showed that children’s help had positive effects on both number of offspring and interbirth interval, but there was no influence of the sex of the first-born offspring; that is, having first-born daughters as potential helpers did not boost female reproduction compared to first-born sons. Building on this finding, I present ethological data on daily activities (including allocare) observed in twenty-five Samoan households in a single village. Contrary to received wisdom, these data showed that a division of labour by sex is not evident in children under the age of fifteen. I suggest this explains the lack of an effect of offspring sex. Finally, understanding the necessity of ecologically valid measures is explored through a series of open-ended interviews with Samoan women.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Forrester, Deanna Lee","University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020","date_published":"2020","updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:02:38Z","subjects":["Child caregivers -- Samoa","Kinship care -- Samoa","Child rearing -- Samoa","Brothers and sisters -- Samoa","Samoa -- Social life and customs","Families -- Samoa","Fertility, Human -- Research -- Samoa","Fertility, Human -- Social aspects -- Samoa","alloparenting by children","female fertility","allocare","sibling alloparenting","childhood division of labour","sex of first-born","fertility rate","Dissertations, Academic"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:10133/5712"],"render_values":[{"text":"hdl:10133/5712","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2020"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Child caregivers -- Samoa","Kinship care -- Samoa","Child rearing -- Samoa","Brothers and sisters -- Samoa","Samoa -- Social life and customs","Families -- Samoa","Fertility, Human -- Research -- Samoa","Fertility, Human -- Social aspects -- Samoa","alloparenting by children","female fertility","allocare","sibling alloparenting","childhood division of labour","sex of first-born","fertility rate","Dissertations, Academic"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:10133/5712"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.other","label":"Dc Description Other","values":["This thesis examines the impact of alloparenting by children in Samoa. Survey data was used to explore whether children’s help in the household (“alloparental care”) influenced female fertility. I showed that children’s help had positive effects on both number of offspring and interbirth interval, but there was no influence of the sex of the first-born offspring; that is, having first-born daughters as potential helpers did not boost female reproduction compared to first-born sons. Building on this finding, I present ethological data on daily activities (including allocare) observed in twenty-five Samoan households in a single village. Contrary to received wisdom, these data showed that a division of labour by sex is not evident in children under the age of fifteen. I suggest this explains the lack of an effect of offspring sex. Finally, understanding the necessity of ecologically valid measures is explored through a series of open-ended interviews with Samoan women."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The value of children: alloparenting in Samoa"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:date.issued":["2020"],"dc:description.other":["This thesis examines the impact of alloparenting by children in Samoa. Survey data was used to explore whether children’s help in the household (“alloparental care”) influenced female fertility. I showed that children’s help had positive effects on both number of offspring and interbirth interval, but there was no influence of the sex of the first-born offspring; that is, having first-born daughters as potential helpers did not boost female reproduction compared to first-born sons. Building on this finding, I present ethological data on daily activities (including allocare) observed in twenty-five Samoan households in a single village. Contrary to received wisdom, these data showed that a division of labour by sex is not evident in children under the age of fifteen. I suggest this explains the lack of an effect of offspring sex. Finally, understanding the necessity of ecologically valid measures is explored through a series of open-ended interviews with Samoan women."],"dc:identifier":["hdl:10133/5712"],"dc:subject":["Child caregivers -- Samoa","Kinship care -- Samoa","Child rearing -- Samoa","Brothers and sisters -- Samoa","Samoa -- Social life and customs","Families -- Samoa","Fertility, Human -- Research -- Samoa","Fertility, Human -- Social aspects -- Samoa","alloparenting by children","female fertility","allocare","sibling alloparenting","childhood division of labour","sex of first-born","fertility rate","Dissertations, Academic"],"dc:title":["The value of children: alloparenting in Samoa"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:02:38Z"}