The Problem of the Relationship between the Number and the Sex of Human Offspring

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Abstract
In indicating statistical procedures which may be applied to determine the presence of any significant relationship between the size of the sibship and the sex of the siblings, it is shown that in Geissler''s records of the sex of 4,794,304 children in 998,761 weighted families the probability of d1 offspring p increases from .513187 for families of 1 child to .527866 for families of 19-30 children. The significance of the change in p, indicated by its orderly pro- gression, is measured in terms of ratios of differences to their probable errors. The argument is further strengthened by demonstration of a correlation of +.0068 [plus or minus] .0007 between the size of family, n (for 2-30 children), and the deviation z of number of [male][male] [image] from its probable value pn. The regression equation, z =[long dash].0135 +.0028 n, emphasises again how small the actual relationship between number of offspring and sex of the last child is. Reasons are presented to indicate that the relationship is not necessarily causal, and the hope is expressed that more adequate data may be uncovered or compiled.

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