The Impact of Family Transitions on Child Fostering in Rural Malawi

Monica J. Grant · Sara E. Yeatman

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Family Dynamics and Relationships Child Welfare and Adoption Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

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.

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References

2000The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children 1986Marital Disruption, Parent-Child Relationships, and Behavior Problems in Children 2008Family Structure and the Reproduction of Inequalities 2007Family Instability and Child Well-Being 2004Family Structure and Child Well‐Being: The Significance of Parental Cohabitation 1994Family Structure and Child Well-Being: Economic Resources vs. Parental Behaviors 2004Orphans in Africa: parental death, poverty, and school enrollment 1997Explaining fertility transitions

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2014Informal Kinship-Based Fostering Around the World: Anthropological Findings 2015Childhood Risk of Parental Absence in Tanzania 2020Consumption Inequality Among Children: Evidence from Child Fostering in Malawi 2021An Enduring Institution? Child Fostering in Sub‐Saharan Africa 2014The Relationship between Partners' Family‐Size Preferences in Southern Malawi 2016Parental Divorce and Children’s Schooling in Rural Malawi

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