IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/demogr/v50y2013i2p725-750.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Family Instability and Early Initiation of Sexual Activity in Western Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Rachel Goldberg

Abstract

Epidemiological, economic, and social forces have produced high levels of volatility in family and household structure for young people growing up in sub-Saharan Africa in recent decades. However, scholarship on the family to date has not examined the influence of this family instability on young people’s well-being. The current study employs unique life history calendar data from Western Kenya to investigate the relationship between instability in caregiving and early initiation of sexual activity. It draws on a body of work on parental union instability in the United States, and examines new dimensions of family change. Analyses reveal a positive association between transitions in primary caregiver and the likelihood of early sexual debut that is rapidly manifested following caregiver change and persists for a short period. The association is strongest at early ages, and there is a cumulative effect of multiple caregiver changes. The results highlight the importance of studying family stability in sub-Saharan Africa, as distinct from family structure, and for attention to dimensions such as age and recency. Copyright Population Association of America 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Goldberg, 2013. "Family Instability and Early Initiation of Sexual Activity in Western Kenya," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(2), pages 725-750, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:50:y:2013:i:2:p:725-750
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-012-0150-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s13524-012-0150-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13524-012-0150-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martha Ainsworth & Kathleen Beegle & Godlike Koda, 2005. "The Impact of Adult Mortality and Parental Deaths on Primary Schooling in North-Western Tanzania," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(3), pages 412-439.
    2. Atwine, Benjamin & Cantor-Graae, Elizabeth & Bajunirwe, Francis, 2005. "Psychological distress among AIDS orphans in rural Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 555-564, August.
    3. Michelle Poulin, 2010. "Reporting on first sexual experience," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(11), pages 237-288.
    4. Anne Case & Christina Paxson & Joseph Ableidinger, 2004. "Orphans in Africa: parental death, poverty, and school enrollment," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(3), pages 483-508, August.
    5. David Evans & Edward Miguel, 2007. "Orphans and schooling in africa: a longitudinal analysis," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(1), pages 35-57, February.
    6. Dodoo, F. Nii-Amoo & Zulu, Eliya M. & Ezeh, Alex C., 2007. "Urban-rural differences in the socioeconomic deprivation-Sexual behavior link in Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(5), pages 1019-1031, March.
    7. Blessing Mberu, 2006. "Internal migration and household living conditions in Ethiopia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 14(21), pages 509-540.
    8. Michael White & Salut Muhidin & Catherine Andrzejewski & Eva Tagoe & Rodney Knight & Holly Reed, 2008. "Urbanization and fertility: An event-history analysis of Coastal Ghana," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(4), pages 803-816, November.
    9. Sandra Hofferth & Frances Goldscheider, 2010. "Family structure and the transition to early parenthood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(2), pages 415-437, May.
    10. repec:pri:cheawb:case_paxson_orphansafrica is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Cynthia Osborne & Sara McLanahan, 2007. "Partnership Instability and Child Well-being," Working Papers 946, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    12. repec:pri:rpdevs:case_paxson_orphansafrica.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Anne Case & Cally Ardington, 2006. "The impact of parental death on school outcomes: Longitudinal evidence from South Africa," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(3), pages 401-420, August.
    14. Georges Reniers, 2008. "Marital strategies for regulating exposure to HIV," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(2), pages 417-438, May.
    15. repec:pri:rpdevs:case_paxson_orphansafrica is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Kathleen Beegle & Joachim Weerdt & Stefan Dercon, 2010. "Orphanhood and human capital destruction: Is there persistence into adulthood?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(1), pages 163-180, February.
    17. Susan Brown, 2006. "Family structure transitions and adolescent well-being," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(3), pages 447-461, August.
    18. repec:pri:crcwel:wp04-16-ff-osborne is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Nyamukapa, C.A. & Gregson, S. & Lopman, B. & Saito, S. & Watts, H.J. & Monasch, R. & Jukes, M.C.H., 2008. "HIV-associated orphanhood and children's psychosocial distress: Theoretical framework tested with data from Zimbabwe," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(1), pages 133-141.
    20. Nancy Luke & Shelley Clark & Eliya Zulu, 2011. "The Relationship History Calendar: Improving the Scope and Quality of Data on Youth Sexual Behavior," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(3), pages 1151-1176, August.
    21. Nnko, Soori & Boerma, J.T.J Ties & Urassa, Mark & Mwaluko, Gabriel & Zaba, Basia, 2004. "Secretive females or swaggering males?: An assessment of the quality of sexual partnership reporting in rural Tanzania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 299-310, July.
    22. Ronald Bulanda & Wendy Manning, 2008. "Parental Cohabitation Experiences and Adolescent Behavioral Outcomes," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 27(5), pages 593-618, October.
    23. Orubuloye, I. O. & Caldwell, John C. & Caldwell, Pat, 1997. "Perceived male sexual needs and male sexual behaviour in southwest Nigeria," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 1195-1207, April.
    24. Madhavan, Sangeetha, 2004. "Fosterage patterns in the age of AIDS: continuity and change," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(7), pages 1443-1454, April.
    25. repec:pri:cheawb:case_paxson_orphansafrica.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vissého Adjiwanou & Germain Adebiyi Boco & Sanni Yaya, 2021. "Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(27), pages 627-670.
    2. Rachel E. Goldberg, 2013. "Family Instability and Pathways to Adulthood in Cape Town, South Africa," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 39(2), pages 231-256, June.
    3. Lauren Gaydosh, 2015. "Childhood Risk of Parental Absence in Tanzania," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1121-1146, August.
    4. Philip Anglewicz & Mark VanLandingham & Dusita Phuengsamran, 2014. "Rural-to-Urban Migration and Sexual Debut in Thailand," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(5), pages 1955-1976, October.
    5. Annah Vimbai Bengesai & Nompumelelo Nzimande, 2020. "The Association between Family Structure Changes and High School Completion in South Africa," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rachel Goldberg & Susan Short, 2012. "“The Luggage that isn’t Theirs is Too Heavy…”: Understandings of Orphan Disadvantage in Lesotho," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 31(1), pages 67-83, February.
    2. Hagen, Jens & Omar Mahmoud, Toman & Trofimenko, Natalia, 2010. "Orphanhood and Critical Periods in Children's Human Capital Formation: Long-Run Evidence from North-Western Tanzania," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Hannover 2010 33, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
    3. Lauren Gaydosh, 2015. "Childhood Risk of Parental Absence in Tanzania," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1121-1146, August.
    4. Rachel E. Goldberg, 2013. "Family Instability and Pathways to Adulthood in Cape Town, South Africa," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 39(2), pages 231-256, June.
    5. Jean-Noël Senne, 2014. "Death and schooling decisions over the short and long run in rural Madagascar," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 497-528, April.
    6. Hagen, Jens & Omar Mahmoud, Toman & Trofimenko, Natalia, 2010. "Orphanhood and critical periods in children's human capital formation: Long-run evidence from North-Western Tanzania," Kiel Working Papers 1649, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    7. Sophia Chae, 2016. "Parental Divorce and Children’s Schooling in Rural Malawi," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(6), pages 1743-1770, December.
    8. Katja Coneus & Andrea Mühlenweg & Holger Stichnoth, 2014. "Orphans at risk in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence on educational and health outcomes," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 641-662, December.
    9. Monica Grant & Sara Yeatman, 2014. "The Impact of Family Transitions on Child Fostering in Rural Malawi," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(1), pages 205-228, February.
    10. Carlos Bozzoli, 2010. "A Lost Generation? Long Term Socioeconomic Outcomes in Orphans," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1069, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Sowmya Dhanaraj, 2015. "Health shocks and the intergenerational transmission of inequality: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India," WIDER Working Paper Series 004, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Shelley Clark & Cassandra Cotton, 2013. "Transitions to adulthood in urban Kenya," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(37), pages 1053-1092.
    13. Ava Cas & Elizabeth Frankenberg & Wayan Suriastini & Duncan Thomas, 2014. "The Impact of Parental Death on Child Well-being: Evidence From the Indian Ocean Tsunami," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 437-457, April.
    14. Ueyama, Mika, 2007. "Mortality, mobility, and schooling outcomes among orphans: Evidence from Malawi," IFPRI discussion papers 710, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    15. Beegle, Kathleen & Filmer, Deon & Stokes, Andrew & Tiererova, Lucia, 2010. "Orphanhood and the Living Arrangements of Children in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1727-1746, December.
    16. Lea Gimenez & Shin-Yi Chou & Jin-Tan Liu & Jin-Long Liu, 2013. "Parental Loss and Children’s Well-Being," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(4), pages 1035-1071.
    17. Takashi Yamano, 2007. "The long‐term impacts of orphanhood on education attainment and land inheritance among adults in rural Kenya," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(2‐3), pages 141-149, September.
    18. Ha, Wei & Salama, Peter & Gwavuya, Stanley, 2015. "The impact of orphanhood on education attendance: evidence from Zimbabwe," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 59-70.
    19. Kathleen Beegle & Joachim De Weerdt & Stefan Dercon, 2006. "Orphanhood and the Long-Run Impact on Children," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 88(5), pages 1266-1272.
    20. Mather, David, 2011. "Working-Age Adult Mortality, Orphan Status, and Child Schooling in Rural Mozambique," Food Security International Development Working Papers 119320, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:50:y:2013:i:2:p:725-750. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.