Ethnic Differences in the Living Arrangements of Children in South Africa
In: Journal of comparative family studies, Band 42, Heft 4, S. 479-508
ISSN: 1929-9850
This study examines ethnic variations in children's living arrangements among black South Africans. Using data from the 1996 South African population and housing census and descriptive and multivariate analyses, I explore if there are differences in children's residence patterns by ethnicity, identify the most common forms of household structure in which children live, and examine the role of various background factors in determining these living arrangements. Descriptive results show marked ethnic variations in the living arrangements of children, with more than 50 per cent of children living in extended households as opposed to living in a two-parent nuclear household or a single-parent nuclear household. Multinomial logistic regression results also show large differences in children's living arrangements across groups, underscoring the salience of ethnicity. Other individual and household-level factors that have significant effects on children's living arrangements include child's gender and schooling status, the head of household's level of schooling and gender, household size, standard of living and place of residence. For instance, children living in urban areas are more likely to live in extended households than those living in rural areas.