An Analysis of the Principal Proximate Determinants of Fertility Among Scheduled Tribe Women in Kokrajhar District of Assam, India

This paper provides a significant assessment of the principal proximate determinants of fertility and their fertility inhibiting effects using primary data. The Bongaarts approach for proximate determinants of fertility was followed in this investigation. The total fertility rate of scheduled tribe was found 2.14 and the age specific marital fertility is high in the age group20-24. The analysis shows that contraception appears as the most prominent determinant in fertility reduction among scheduled tribe women, followed by abortion, lactational infecundability and marriage. Among the four proximate determinants of fertility, the contribution of index of contraception was the highest in inhibiting fertility. Thus the use of contraception will be the dominant factor for reduction in fertility. The national goal of attaining a replacement level of fertility could be expected to be achieved if the rate of contraception use of scheduled tribe women can be increased up to a certain level.