factors effective in changing of reproductive behaviors of nomadic and non-nomadic tribes in the semirom province, iran

background : the study of reproductive behaviors is one of the important factors of population. it plays a pivotal role in the growth of population.  reproductive behaviors are influenced by the cultural values and traditional beliefs of individuals. the aim of the present study is to compare reproductive behaviors of nomadic and non-nomadic tribes in the semirom province, and determine factors influencing this behavior. methods: in this descriptive study, 357 families of nomads of semirum city, 70% nomadic and 30% non-nomadic, are evaluated with simple random sampling. the data collection tool was a questionnaire consisting of traditional beliefs, attitude toward children, attitude toward family planning, men’s participation in family planning, age of marriage, and education. date were analyzed by spss version 12 using pearson’s correlation, independent t-test, chi-squared test and regression analysis. p value of less than 0.05 is considered as significant level. findings: the traditional beliefs of non-nomadic tribes were significantly higher than nomadic tribes (p = 0.0001). the attitude toward children and family planning, men’s participation in family planning, marriage age of girls, and education in non-nomads were significanty higher than nomadic tribes (p = 0.0001). moreover, the reproductive rate of non-nomadic tribes was significantly lower than nomadic tribes (p = 0.0001). regression analysis indicates that only the nomads’ traditional beliefs on reproduction can predict their reproductivebehaviors. conclusion: the settlment of nomadshas caused a decrease in their traditional beliefs on reproductive behaviors changed their attitude toward children, family planning,  caused the greater participation of men in family planning, and increased the level of education and age of marriage. increase in the education of nomad can also cause a decrease in their reproductive rate. keyword: reproductive behaviors, age of marriage, family planning.