Laboratory

BIOSFER

At a Glance Projects Publications Team

Research Area

Research Arm "Present"

The research arm "Present" focuses on understanding the level, variation, and joint distribution of fecundity, fertility ideals, and fertility outcomes among contemporary adults. Existing research has analyzed these separately. We hypothesize that the social outcomes — fertility ideals and how these are converted into reproductive outcomes — are strongly shaped by fecundity; and that both the social forces and the biomedical processes that influence fecundity and fertility are socially patterned, driving the polarization of fertility outcomes. A key methodological challenge in this research arm is to produce individualized fecundity scores that are determined by both biological and social processes.