title: The impact of family transitions on child fostering in rural Malawi.
abstract: Despite the frequency of divorce and remarriage across much of sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about what these events mean for the living arrangements of children. We use longitudinal data from rural Malawi to examine the effects of family transitions on the prevalence and incidence of child fostering, or children residing apart from their living parents. We find that between 7 % and 15 % of children aged 3-14 are out-fostered over the two-year intersurvey period. Although divorce appears to be a significant driver of child fostering in the cross-sectional analysis, it is not significantly associated with the incidence of out-fostering. In contrast, maternal remarriage has both a lagged and an immediate effect on the incidence of out-fostering. Furthermore, the likelihood of out-fostering is even higher among children whose mother remarried and had a new child during the intersurvey period. Using longitudinal data collected from living mothers rather than from children's current foster homes offers new insights into the reasons children are sent to live with others besides their parents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA, grantm@ssc.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Monica J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yeatman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008295:Malawi / Q000453:epidemiology; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
references.citation: Popul Stud (Camb). 2012 Nov;66(3):279-95
references.pmid: 22607126
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2003 Mar;56(6):1235-47
references.pmid: 12600361
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2004 Apr;58(7):1443-54
references.pmid: 14759688
references.citation: Demography. 2013 Oct;50(5):1521-49
references.pmid: 23839100
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2003 Jul;57(2):301-11
references.pmid: 12765710
references.citation: Glob Public Health. 2013;8(2):187-201
references.pmid: 23350930
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2005 Feb;60(3):649-60
references.pmid: 15550312
references.citation: Annu Rev Sociol. 1994;20:235-66
references.pmid: 12318869
references.citation: AIDS. 2004 Jun;18 Suppl 2:S55-65
references.pmid: 15319744
references.citation: Popul Stud (Camb). 2007 Nov;61(3):327-36
references.pmid: 17979006
references.citation: Demography. 1997 Nov;34(4):443-54
references.pmid: 9545624
references.citation: Am Sociol Rev. 2007 Apr;72(2):181-204
references.pmid: 21918579
references.citation: Demography. 2007 Feb;44(1):35-57
references.pmid: 17461335
references.citation: Demography. 2004 Aug;41(3):483-508
references.pmid: 15461011
references.citation: Soc Forces. 2012 Sep;91(1):45-53
references.pmid: 23378674
references.citation: J Fam Hist. 2001;26(4):529-56
references.pmid: 19317026
references.citation: Demography. 2008 May;45(2):417-38
references.pmid: 18613488
references.citation: Demography. 2012 Feb;49(1):239-65
references.pmid: 22109083
references.citation: J Marriage Fam. 2009 Aug 1;71(3):575-591
references.pmid: 20228952
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2005 May;60(10):2155-67
references.pmid: 15748665
references.citation: J Biosoc Sci. 2000 Jul;32(3):355-72
references.pmid: 10979229
references.citation: Cult Health Sex. 2005 Sep-Oct;7(5):479-92
references.pmid: 16864217
references.citation: Demography. 2004 Aug;41(3):465-82
references.pmid: 15461010
references.citation: Africa (Lond). 1982;52(4):15-33
references.pmid: 12264951