Investigating the prevalence and consequences of family structure transitions on children living in low-, middle-, and high-income countries

Abstract

Family structure transitions are changes in household composition caused by changes in the parents’ cohabiting relationship status. These transitions are normative in many high-income countries and have been associated with several negative child outcomes, albeit inconsistently. The instability hypothesis theorises that transitions lead to negative outcomes through the pathway of stress. However, evidence for this hypothesis is mixed: transitions are not always stressful, and are not always associated with negative child outcomes. Further, almost all the research on the instability hypothesis focuses on high-income countries, despite the social context likely influencing the prevalence and consequences of transitions. Therefore, to examine these transitions through a more global lens, this thesis aims to: RQ1) identify the prevalence of transitions in LMICs, RQ2) understand the consequences of transitions for children’s physical health and educational achievement in LMICs, and RQ3) test and extend the instability hypothesis. Two large-scale, longitudinal datasets (Young Lives and Growing Up in Ireland) were used, which sample children and their caregivers in Ethiopia, India, Peru, Vietnam, and Ireland. The prevalence of family structure transitions by age 12 was: 14.8% in Ethiopia, 5.6% in India, 22.0% in Peru, and 7.7% in Vietnam (RQ1). Family structure transitions were not associated with children’s physical health or educational achievement in the four LMICs, but they were negatively associated with these outcomes in Ireland (RQ2). Several moderators of the instability hypothesis which reduced the stress associated with transitions were identified: household size, living in a multigenerational and extended kin household, and child-caregiver closeness and conflict (RQ3). These findings suggest that transitions are relatively common in some LMICs, which underscores the need to broaden the contexts in which family instability is studied. The findings also show that transitions can lead to stress and negative child outcomes, but that the social and family context matters.