Sibling rivalry and the gender gap: evidence from child health outcomes in Ghana

When capital and labor markets are imperfect, choice sets narrow, and parents must choose how to ration available funds and time between their children. One consequence is that children become rivals for household resources. In economies with pro-male bias, such rivalries can yield gains to having relatively more sisters than brothers. Using a rich household survey from Ghana, we find that on average if children had all sisters (and no brothers) they would do roughly 25-40% better on measured health indicators than if they had all brothers (and no sisters). The effects are as large as typical quantity-quality trade-offs, and they do not differ significantly by gender. Received: 22 May 1996 / Accepted: 13 July 1998     

Quality of life and city size: An exploratory study of Nigeria

This paper examines the variations in the quality of life at the relatively neglected inter-urban scale in a developing nation. Based on a sample survey of 3800 heads of households in Nigerian cities ranked into three categories: large, medium and small, the study found that level-of-living is related to city size, with the residents of large cities having a higher quality of life than those in the medium and small cities.     

The family planning work in Yiyang prefecture as suggested by part of the data of the sample fertility survey]

The National Committee on Family Planning conducted a sample survey of fertility in the Yi-yang area in September 1982. The survey was focused on the marriage and fertility status of women between the ages of 15 and 67. Results from this survey show that early marriage is still very popular. Only 40% of those surveyed delayed their marriage to a later age. There is a need to educate the people on the benefits of late marriage. In addition, statistics show that the average fertility rate for a woman was 6.8 children in 1970 and 2.35 children in 1982. This recent figure is still too high when compared with the under 1.2 figure suggested by the central government. Among the total number surveyed, only 77% have taken birth control measures, and the other 23% still have not taken any birth control measures. The phenomenon shows that popular education on late marriage and having children at a later age is still urgently needed in order to further reduce the fertility rate. Married couples of childbearing age should be taught effective birth control measures and knowledge of eugenics with better education for the next generation. In this way, the masses may participate actively and positively in the national family planning campaign.     

Migration in the Southeast

Between 1940 and 1960 the Southeast experienced both economic and demographic revolutions. They were interrelated in many ways. Agriculture was mechanized and reorganized making millions of farmers and farm laborers surplus. The natural assets of the region were developed and industry grew more rapidly than in other regions. There were marked changes in the labor force, a rapid increase in the proportion of women employed and a decrease in the proportion of Negroes. The level of family income rose faster than in other regions.Five and three quarter million persons were transferred from the farm population. A net of 2.7 million left the region and 3 million were absorbed in nonfarm areas within the region. In 1960 52 percent of the population was in cities. Increase was especially fast in metropolitan urban areas, mostly in suburbs. There were also substantial increases in the rural nonfarm areas. Small cities as a group showed no net in-migration. Among the net migrants out of the region the ratio was 4 colored to1 white.The age and sex distribution was warped, especially below age 30, slowing down the early marriage rate and the crude birth rate.The projection of the trend which was being followed in the early 1960s indicates that the regional rate of increase may overtake that of the rest of the country, being particularly rapid in the young adult and adolescent ages.For the purposes of this study the Southeast includes: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. These were originally the heaviest cotton producing states and the heart of the sharecropping area where the reorganization of the economy was particularly disruptive.     

Nuptiality and fertility of birth cohorts

The impact of changes in age patterns of nuptiality on the net reproduction rate is examined using life table techniques and assuming that age-specific fertility within marriage and fertility outside of marriage are fixed. In the second section, a standardization technique is used to investigate the impact of changes in nuptiality on age-cumulative measures of marital fertility. Examples using data for selected generations of Australian women demonstrate the extent to which recent changes in average completed family size in Australia were affected by changing nuptiality patterns.     

Community and drug use among gay men: the role of neighborhoods and networks

Gay neighborhoods serve as vital places for gay men's socializing, yet few studies have examined their contributions to gay men's health-either directly or indirectly via residents' social networks. Drawing from theoretical perspectives on community and networks, we test hypotheses concerning whether gay neighborhoods and social network factors are associated with patterns of recent illicit drug use among a sample of 740 urban gay men from New York City. Higher odds of drug use were observed among individuals who resided in gay neighborhoods, had networks composed predominantly of other gay men, and had increased socialization with gay men. Network factors did not mediate associations between gay neighborhoods and drug use. These findings highlight the need to better contextualize the health risks faced by gay men by accounting for both neighborhood and network structures.     

Age-Related Changes in Emotion Recognition: How,Why, and How Much of a Problem?

Isaacowitz and Stanley review age differences in facial emotion recognition, an ability tied to effective socioemotional functioning but often marked by age-related decline. They highlight major findings from the past decade and conclude that age-related declines exist but are least pronounced for positive relative to negative emotions. They discuss possible motivational and structural explanations for this positivity effect, and they describe future research avenues for evaluating age-related differences in more ecologically valid contexts. In this commentary, we discuss each of these topics. We state that many complexities that arise when interpreting age differences are similar to issues raised by emotion scholars who have studied intrapersonal and interpersonal processes outside of the developmental literature. We argue that theoretical and methodological lessons gained from these emotion scholars would provide insight to interpret current findings and direct future research in life-span development.     

The impact of mental health issues, substance use, and exposure to victimization on pregnancy rates among a sample of youth with past-year foster care placement

The purpose of this study is to (1) compare youth entering substance abuse treatment with and without a history of foster care placement to determine any differences in mental health, substance use, and exposure to victimization, and (2) determine if mental health, substance use, and/or exposure to victimization predict past pregnancy among the sample with a history of foster care placement. The pooled dataset consisted of 17,124 adolescents (12-17 years of age) who completed the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs at intake for substance abuse treatment in 2009. Of these, 366 (2.1%) reported having been in foster care in the past year. When compared with a non-foster care sample, the foster care sample reported significantly higher internal mental distress scores, behavior complexity scores, and general victimization scores, after controlling for race, gender, and level of care. Problems associated with substance use did not differ between groups, though regular tobacco use was present at a higher rate in the foster care sample. Multivariate logistic regression results revealed that, within the foster care sample, internal mental distress and gender predicted past pregnancy. There may be room for intervention within substance abuse treatment centers for youth with a history of foster care, who may be at risk for pregnancy if their levels of internal mental distress are high.     

Patterns and Predictors of Early Care and Education for Children in Foster Care

Patterns and predictors of center-based early care and education (ECE) of children in foster care were examined. Participants included 192 pre-Kindergarten age children in foster care. Foster parents reported demographics, ECE and other service use. Foster care history data was abstracted from case files. High rates of attendance in ECE prior to Kindergarten, including Head Start, other center-based ECE, or both were found. Children who attended Head Start were younger when first placed in foster care. Children who attended other center-based ECE services were more likely to live with kinship foster parents and foster families with higher incomes. Latent class analysis of ECE quantity, quality, type, and duration revealed three patterns: part-time Head Start, part-time other ECE, and full-time mixed ECE. Child and foster family characteristics predicted these patterns, illustrating distinct groups with potential implications for the development of children in foster care.