Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study
<b>Background</b>: Research on stepfamilies and their effects on childhood investments is limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region characterized by a high level of remarriage and fertility. <b>Objective</b>: The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Demographic Research |
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| Online Access: | https://www.demographic-research.org/articles/volume/44/27 |
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| author | Vissého Adjiwanou Germain Adebiyi Boco Sanni Yaya |
| author_facet | Vissého Adjiwanou Germain Adebiyi Boco Sanni Yaya |
| author_sort | Vissého Adjiwanou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background</b>: Research on stepfamilies and their effects on childhood investments is limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region characterized by a high level of remarriage and fertility. <b>Objective</b>: The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of children in stepfather family arrangements and to explore the influence of this family arrangement on children'sschooling. <b>Methods</b>: We rely on recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in 33 SSA countries between 2006 and 2015. The study sample consists of 277,726 children aged 6 to 14. Cluster-level fixed effect models were used to predict children's school attendance statusin stepfather family arrangements, in contrast with families with both biological parentsor single-mother family arrangements. <b>Results</b>: At the regional level, the proportion of children and adolescents under 15 years of ageliving with stepfathers was 2.5Š, ranging from 1.1Š in Burkina Faso to 6.3Š in Gabon.In the regression analyses, children living in stepfather family arrangements were associated with lower school attendance when compared with children living with their biological parents and when compared to children in single-motherhood family arrangements. These effects are more pronounced in urban areas than in rural areas. Finally, we found that girls were not over-discriminated against in stepfather family arrangements compared to boys. <b>Conclusions</b>: Stepfather family arrangements negatively affect children's schooling in SSA. Nonetheless, further studies for better understanding of these family arrangements are needed, as well as studies of the interactions that children have with their fathers or fathers' families. <b>Contribution</b>: This study makes an original contribution to the literature on family complexity - shedding light on the phenomenon of step-parenting - and its consequences on children's schooling in SSA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:57:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8a8e15049b1e45759fba406b2db7e63d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1435-9871 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:57:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Demographic Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-8a8e15049b1e45759fba406b2db7e63d2023-08-22T11:19:15ZengMax Planck Institute for Demographic ResearchDemographic Research1435-98712021-03-01442710.4054/DemRes.2021.44.274504Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national studyVissého Adjiwanou0Germain Adebiyi Boco1Sanni Yaya2Université du Québec à MontréalUniversity of LethbridgeUniversity of Ottawa<b>Background</b>: Research on stepfamilies and their effects on childhood investments is limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region characterized by a high level of remarriage and fertility. <b>Objective</b>: The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of children in stepfather family arrangements and to explore the influence of this family arrangement on children'sschooling. <b>Methods</b>: We rely on recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in 33 SSA countries between 2006 and 2015. The study sample consists of 277,726 children aged 6 to 14. Cluster-level fixed effect models were used to predict children's school attendance statusin stepfather family arrangements, in contrast with families with both biological parentsor single-mother family arrangements. <b>Results</b>: At the regional level, the proportion of children and adolescents under 15 years of ageliving with stepfathers was 2.5Š, ranging from 1.1Š in Burkina Faso to 6.3Š in Gabon.In the regression analyses, children living in stepfather family arrangements were associated with lower school attendance when compared with children living with their biological parents and when compared to children in single-motherhood family arrangements. These effects are more pronounced in urban areas than in rural areas. Finally, we found that girls were not over-discriminated against in stepfather family arrangements compared to boys. <b>Conclusions</b>: Stepfather family arrangements negatively affect children's schooling in SSA. Nonetheless, further studies for better understanding of these family arrangements are needed, as well as studies of the interactions that children have with their fathers or fathers' families. <b>Contribution</b>: This study makes an original contribution to the literature on family complexity - shedding light on the phenomenon of step-parenting - and its consequences on children's schooling in SSA.https://www.demographic-research.org/articles/volume/44/27childrenfamily structureschoolingstepfamilysub-saharan africawell-being |
| spellingShingle | Vissého Adjiwanou Germain Adebiyi Boco Sanni Yaya Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study Demographic Research children family structure schooling stepfamily sub-saharan africa well-being |
| title | Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study |
| title_full | Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study |
| title_fullStr | Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study |
| title_short | Stepfather families and children's schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study |
| title_sort | stepfather families and children s schooling in sub saharan africa a cross national study |
| topic | children family structure schooling stepfamily sub-saharan africa well-being |
| url | https://www.demographic-research.org/articles/volume/44/27 |
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