TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding Household Dynamics From the Ground Up
T2 - A Longitudinal Study From a Rural South African Setting
AU - Yu, Shao Tzu
AU - Houle, Brian
AU - Schatz, Enid
AU - Angotti, Nicole
AU - Kabudula, Chodziwadziwa W.
AU - Gómez-Olivé, Francesc Xavier
AU - Clark, Samuel J.
AU - Menken, Jane
AU - Mojola, Sanyu A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2024 The Authors.
PY - 2024/2/1
Y1 - 2024/2/1
N2 - Investigations into household structure in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) provide important insight into how families manage domestic life in response to resource allocation and caregiving needs during periods of rapid sociopolitical and health-related challenges. Recent evidence on household structure in many LMICs contrasts with long-standing viewpoints of worldwide convergence to a Western nuclearized household model. Here, we adopt a household-centered theoretical and methodological framework to investigate longitudinal patterns and dynamics of household structure in a rural South African setting during a period of high AIDS-related mortality and socioeconomic change. Data come from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System (2003-2015). Using latent transition models, we derived six distinct household types by examining conditional interdependency between household heads' characteristics, members' age composition, and migration status. More than half of households were characterized by their complex and multigenerational profiles, with considerable within-typology variation in household size and dependency structure. Transition analyses showed stability of household types under female headship, while higher proportions of nuclearized household types dissolved over time. Household dissolution was closely linked to prior mortality experiences-particularly, following death of a male head. Our findings highlight the need to better conceptualize and contextualize household changes across populations and over time.
AB - Investigations into household structure in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) provide important insight into how families manage domestic life in response to resource allocation and caregiving needs during periods of rapid sociopolitical and health-related challenges. Recent evidence on household structure in many LMICs contrasts with long-standing viewpoints of worldwide convergence to a Western nuclearized household model. Here, we adopt a household-centered theoretical and methodological framework to investigate longitudinal patterns and dynamics of household structure in a rural South African setting during a period of high AIDS-related mortality and socioeconomic change. Data come from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System (2003-2015). Using latent transition models, we derived six distinct household types by examining conditional interdependency between household heads' characteristics, members' age composition, and migration status. More than half of households were characterized by their complex and multigenerational profiles, with considerable within-typology variation in household size and dependency structure. Transition analyses showed stability of household types under female headship, while higher proportions of nuclearized household types dissolved over time. Household dissolution was closely linked to prior mortality experiences-particularly, following death of a male head. Our findings highlight the need to better conceptualize and contextualize household changes across populations and over time.
KW - Finite mixture models
KW - HIV
KW - Household structure
KW - Household transition
KW - South Africa
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85184302416&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85184302416&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1215/00703370-11146140
DO - 10.1215/00703370-11146140
M3 - Article
C2 - 38240041
AN - SCOPUS:85184302416
SN - 0070-3370
VL - 61
SP - 31
EP - 57
JO - Demography
JF - Demography
IS - 1
ER -