Socio-demographic Correlates of Subjective Well-being in Urban India

This study aimed to explore subjective well-being (SWB) in an urban Indian sample. Adults (n = 1099) belonging to two wards in the city of Bangalore in South India, responded to a study-specific questionnaire. This paper is based on data generated as part of an ongoing larger study looking at correlates of SWB. Almost equal number of men and women responded to the study and their age ranged from 20 to 81 years (mean age 37 years). Majority of them were married, Hindus, from middle socio-economic status, had studied above pre-university level and more than half were earning. The mean scores on positive affect (40.9), negative affect (27.6) and life satisfaction (24) suggested above average levels of SWB. Higher age, being married, having higher education, higher income and working in a full time job seemed to improve life satisfaction and decrease negative affect. Religion was also significantly associated with negative affect. Step-wise regression analysis suggested that only education and income were important predictors of positive affect, while negative affect was better predicted by age, income, work status and religion. Life satisfaction was predicted by income, age and education. The important correlates of SWB for men and women were somewhat different. Overall, sociodemographic variables have minimal effect on SWB in urban India and research needs to explore other predictors of SWB.     

The Role of Men's Childbearing Intentions in Father Involvement

An expanding body of research has investigated factors that influence fathers' involvement with their children. Generally overlooked has been the role of pregnancy intentions on men's fathering behaviors. In this study, the authors used nationally representative data from men interviewed in the 2002 and 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth to examine relationships between fathers' pregnancy intentions and multiple aspects of their parental involvement. Using propensity score methods to control for confounding, they found that men were less likely to live with a young child from a mistimed than intended pregnancy and that among nonresident fathers, mistimed pregnancies were associated with lower levels of visitation and consequently reduced participation in caregiving and play. Among both resident and nonresident fathers, mistimed pregnancies were also associated with lower self‐appraisals of fathering quality when compared with intended pregnancies; for nonresident fathers, however, this association was moderated by other involvement.     

Adolescent Pathways to Co‐Occurring Problem Behavior: The Effects of Peer Delinquency and Peer Substance Use

Delinquency and substance use are more likely to co‐occur in adolescence compared to earlier and later developmental periods. The present study examined developmental pathways to co‐occurring problem behavior from 6th to 10th grade (N = 2,002), testing how peer delinquency and substance use were linked to transitioning between abstaining, delinquency, substance use, and co‐occurring problem behavior. Developmentally, most youth transition from abstinence to delinquent behavior and then escalate to co‐occurring problem behavior. Once co‐occurring problem behavior onsets, remitting to single‐problem behavior or abstinence is unlikely. The impact of peers on problem behavior is domain‐specific when individuals transition from abstaining to a single‐problem behavior, but is more general with respect to escalation of and desistance from problem behavior.     

Integrating people with disabilities: their right – our responsibility

A full understanding of disability recognizes that it has a powerful human rights dimension and is often associated with social exclusion, and increased exposure and vulnerability to poverty. Disability is a human rights issue. The World Bank (1999) report points out that one in five of the world’s poorest are disabled, for whom access to basic rights is a daily struggle. Though arising from physical or intellectual impairment, disability has social implications as well as health ones. In most countries, government services for disabled people are still small‐scale rehabilitation projects separated from the rest of the community. People with disabilities are amongst the poorest of the poor. Barriers built by disability and poverty can only be removed by the concerted and integrated effort of the government, NGOs, corporates, movie mughals and educational institutions. It is the duty of the rest of society to acknowledge the rights of the poor and the disabled. This can no longer be treated as philanthropy but is a responsibility.     

Oral,systemic and socioeconomic factors associated with preterm birth

Background

The rates of preterm births have been increasing worldwide. Complications related to preterm births are associated with increased costs of care, and have a direct impact on the health system of the countries. Therefore, it is important to address factors associated with preterm birth in order to provide prevention strategies.

Evaluating the complex interactions between malaria and cholera prevalence,neglected tropical disease comorbidities,and community perception of health risks of climate change

The burgeoning literature on the climate change–human health nexus has focused almost exclusively on the health impacts of climate change with little attention to how ill-health and disease influence public perception of the health risks of climate change. Based on a cross-sectional survey of 1,253 individuals, linear regression was used to examine the independent effects of malaria and cholera prevalence, and neglected tropical disease comorbidities on perceived health risks of climate change. Individuals who reported more comorbidities had higher scores on perceived health risks of climate change compared with those who did not report any comorbidities. Unexpectedly, at the multivariate level, there were no statistically significant relationships between age of respondents, gender, and educational attainment on the one hand, and perceived health risks of climate change on the other hand. Individuals who were diagnosed with cholera in the past 12 months had higher scores on perceived health risks of climate change but there was no relationship between diagnosis with malaria in the past 12 months and perceived health risks. Individuals who had attained secondary education had lower scores on perceived health risks of climate change compared with those without any formal education. Given that this relationship did not exist at the bivariate level, it indicates that biosocial and sociocultural factors suppressed the relationship between secondary education attainment and perceived health risks of climate change. The findings underscore the complex relationship between perceived health risks of climate change and infectious disease, comorbidities, compositional, and contextual factors at the multivariate level.     

Land cover change and fertility in West-Central Africa: rural livelihoods and the vicious circle model

The vicious circle argument, rooted in a neo-Malthusian tradition, states that resource scarcity increases the demand for child labor and leads to higher fertility. The rural livelihood framework, on the other hand, contends that households employ multiple strategies, only one of which involves adjusting their fertility levels as a response to environmental pressures. This study provides a unique test of both theories by examining the relationship between land cover change and fertility across hundreds of rural communities in four West-Central African countries. The findings reveal a complex relationship between natural capital and fertility. In communities where natural capital was initially low, a further decline in that capital is associated with both higher fertility preferences and levels. However, we find that fertility preferences and behavior are often discordant, with notable within-community differences in response to decline in natural capital across levels of household wealth.