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What stabilizes the sex ratio?

W H James1

  • 1Galton Laboratory, University College London.

Annals of Human Genetics
|April 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

The human sex ratio at birth is mainly stabilized by behavioral factors and parental perceptions, not just natural selection. Parental hormones, influenced by perceived sex ratios, play a key role in this feedback loop.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Human reproductive behavior
  • Behavioral endocrinology

Background:

  • The human sex ratio at birth is a critical demographic factor.
  • Previous theories emphasized natural selection's role in sex ratio stabilization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate factors beyond natural selection that stabilize the human sex ratio at birth.
  • To explore the influence of behavioral and psychological elements on sex determination.

Main Methods:

  • The study proposes a theoretical framework integrating behavioral and psychological factors.
  • It suggests examining correlations between coital rates, parental perceptions, and hormonal levels.

Main Results:

  • Natural selection has a minor direct impact on stabilizing the human sex ratio at birth.
  • Behavioral factors, such as coital rates, and psychological factors, like parental perceptions of adult sex ratios, are major stabilizing forces.

Conclusions:

  • Parental hormone levels are influenced by perceived adult sex ratios.
  • These hormone levels, in turn, affect the sex ratio of the subsequent generation, establishing a negative feedback system for stabilization.

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