This research allows two anthropologists at the University of New Mexico to test alternative models of male parenting in the contemporary U.S. This study will test a specific evolutionary model of the determinants of male fertility and parenting practices, designed to explain the number of children men have, the economic and noneconomic resources men invest in their children, commonality and conflict of interest between men and women in fertility, parenting and mating decisions, and differential investment in offspring within sibships. The predictions of alternative economic and evolutionary models will also be tested. Data will be obtained through structured interviews with a representative sample of 750 Anglo and Hispanic men over 50 years of age in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A short interview will determine eligibility for the study, and a long interview will obtain fertility, parenting and income data on three generations of individuals. This research is important because increased understanding of fertility and parenting in general will help us understand the causes of the deomgraphic transition, and increased understanding of fertility in different ethnic groups in the US can help planners design policies to satisfy the needs of different populations.
