Question: Circumcising and level of education

[emma1325]

Is there any data on the level of education held by those circumcising the most in America?

I know that there is data on this for vaccinating and breastfeeding parents, and was wondering if any trends were observed in circumcising parents.

Thanks for any info!

[GoodMomma]

I know of both kinds of parents that circ. And I know of both kinds of parents that don't. But it is interesting....I sure would like to know.

[A&A]

Highly educated parents are less likely to circ.......just like they're more likely to breastfeed and question vaxes.

But very poor parents may not be able to pay for circ (or may not have insurance) so they may not be circ'ing for that reason.

So, the not-as-educated parents with the ability to pay for circ are the ones most likely to be circ'ing.

[LaffNowCryLater]

I think *smart* people are more likely to not circ, whether that means higher education or just a good dose of common sense and some critical thinking skills. I would love to see some data on it too though.

[lawmama1984]

I'd love to see data myself. My parents are educated (dad is an MD, mom a college grad) who chose to circ their boys. I always assumed I'd circ b/c that is the culture I grew up in. I chose not to, and I consider myself highly educated (a lawyer in TX). I think it might go either way, but I expect that there are a lot of more highly educated parents opting not to circ these days (at least those that have access to the info).

[A&A]

I was wrong (according to this data):

"Circumcision rates vary significantly by the level of education obtained by a respondent's mother. The critical break occurred between respondents whose mothers did and did not earn a high school diploma. While 62% of respondents whose mothers did not finish high school were circumcised, the rate for all other respondents varied form 84% to 87%. These differences remained significant when other factors were controlled. Net of such factors, the odds of being circumcised for respondents whose mothers earned at least a high school diploma was about 2.5 times (95% CI, 1.9-3.8) that of those whose mothers were less educated. This discrepancy appeared to be narrowing in more recent cohorts. Among the youngest group of respondents, only those whose mothers had finished college displayed a significantly higher circumcision rate than those whose mothers had not earned a high school diploma."

http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/

And as this same link points out, race/ethnicity affects rates of circ, too.

[brant31]

Couldn't tell you specifically about the USA, but a buddy of mine spent a week or so carefully constructing a model a few years ago to determine the demographics of circumcision. What he found was that worldwide, males who are not circumcised on average have statistically higher incomes, several years more education and better health profiles overall. Of course, most of the world's wealthy and industrialized countries do not practice RIC or childhood circumcision and some of the world's poorer countries and cultures do. This profile is moving even more in this direction as the US shifts from the reliably circumcised column to equilibrium, and some of the poorest parts of sub-Saharan Africa are lured into becoming circumcising cultures by WHO and UNAIDS.

He found another interesting statistic: of every 100 boys in the world under one year of age, only 3 are circumcised -- and 2 of these 3 are in North America. If the US stopped circumcising infants like its anglophone siblings, RIC would be a statistical blip. We singlehandedly have given the procedure credibility for the past 80 years. (before that fewer than half of American boys were cut at birth)

[eepster]

Originally Posted by A&A

"Circumcision rates vary significantly by the level of education obtained by a respondent's mother. The critical break occurred between respondents whose mothers did and did not earn a high school diploma. While 62% of respondents whose mothers did not finish high school were circumcised, the rate for all other respondents varied form 84% to 87%. These differences remained significant when other factors were controlled. Net of such factors, the odds of being circumcised for respondents whose mothers earned at least a high school diploma was about 2.5 times (95% CI, 1.9-3.8) that of those whose mothers were less educated. This discrepancy appeared to be narrowing in more recent cohorts. Among the youngest group of respondents, only those whose mothers had finished college displayed a significantly higher circumcision rate than those whose mothers had not earned a high school diploma."

http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/

And as this same link points out, race/ethnicity affects rates of circ, too.

I don't think that has much to do with who is circ'ing in modern times.

If you look at who participated in that study, you'll see how it has little to do with the education levels of people who are currently deciding whether or not to circ.

Participants. - A national probability sample of 1410 American men aged 18 to 59 years at the time of the survey. In addition, an oversample of black and Hispanic minority groups is included in comparative analyses.

Especially when you consider that this study is over 10 years old.

I would venture to speculate that a large part of the correlation between education level of the mothers and circ rate had more to do with simple timing. As the circ rate rose in the 60s so did the percentage of people pursuing high school diplomas. At the time when circ was less prevalent, high school diplomas were considered higher eductation not a basic minimum level of education.

[bandgeek]

No idea, but I made the decision not to circ my kids when I was about 16 and hadn't yet finished high school. You don't have to be educated to feel badly for babies who have parts of their genitals cut off.

[mama24-7]

Originally Posted by bandgeek

No idea, but I made the decision not to circ my kids when I was about 16 and hadn't yet finished high school. You don't have to be educated to feel badly for babies who have parts of their genitals cut off.

sus

[Fyrestorm]

I think back in the day, it was considered a status symbol. I believe I read somewhere that it got a boost with the royal family in GB back in the day. The queen was miffed when Diana decided to leave the princes whole.

[MarnieMax]

I have always suspected that university environment/higher education imply lower rates of circ.

My husband and I live in a university town that is highly educated and a mix of middle and upper middle class. My oldest son has just started college, the others are in public school. They are all intact, as are the boys of 2-3 other families we have 'grown up' with. We have had two peds over the years, who are pretty mainstream in alot of ways, and their sons are intact. This is hardly scientific, but it makes you wonder.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by eepster

I don't think that has much to do with who is circ'ing in modern times.

If you look at who participated in that study, you'll see how it has little to do with the education levels of people who are currently deciding whether or not to circ.

Especially when you consider that this study is over 10 years old.

I would venture to speculate that a large part of the correlation between education level of the mothers and circ rate had more to do with simple timing. As the circ rate rose in the 60s so did the percentage of people pursuing high school diplomas. At the time when circ was less prevalent, high school diplomas were considered higher eductation not a basic minimum level of education.

good point.