Age at Paternity in England and Wales, 1901–60

Summary Except for the year 1931, no information is available on age at paternity in England and Wales before 1961. But such information is needed to determine the aetiological significance of raised maternal age, for example that which has been reported for several types of psychiatric disorder. Parental age at the birth of a respondent was studied in a survey of 2000 persons forming a quota sample of the adult population of England and Wales. Checks against the available national statistics suggest the findings for age at paternity can be accepted with some confidence.