1
|
Brandl E, Emmott EH, Mace R. Adoption, Fostering, and Parental Absence in Vanuatu. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2023; 34:422-455. [PMID: 37642860 PMCID: PMC10543845 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-023-09456-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Alloparenting, wherein people provide care to children who are not their biological offspring, is a key aspect of human child-rearing. In the Pacific, many children are adopted or fostered by custodial alloparents even when both biological parents are still alive. From a behavioral ecology perspective, such behaviors are puzzling: why parent someone else's child at your expense? Furthermore, little is known about how these arrangements are made in Pacific Islander societies today, who provides care, and what kinds of outcomes fostered children experience. A better understanding of these proximate factors may help reveal the ultimate drivers behind custodial alloparenting. Here, we report findings from a survey carried out with the caregivers of 282 children in rural areas of Vanuatu, an island nation in Melanesia. Most fostered and adopted children lived with relatives such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents (87.5%) rather than unrelated caregivers, with a strong preference for maternal kin. The most common reasons for these arrangements were that the parents had separated (16.7%), were engaging in labor migration (27.1%), or a combination of both (27.1%). Results for investment in children's education and their educational outcomes were mixed, although children removed from crisis situations did more poorly than children removed for aspirational reasons. Our findings suggest that custodial alloparenting helps families adapt to socioeconomic transitions and changing marriage practices. Outcomes may depend on a range of factors, such as the reason children were transferred out of the natal home to begin with.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Brandl
- Lise Meitner Research Group BirthRites, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Emily H Emmott
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Shenk MK, Morse A, Mattison SM, Sear R, Alam N, Raqib R, Kumar A, Haque F, Blumenfield T, Shaver J, Sosis R, Wander K. Social support, nutrition and health among women in rural Bangladesh: complex tradeoffs in allocare, kin proximity and support network size. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200027. [PMID: 33938271 PMCID: PMC8090824 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Malnutrition among women of reproductive age is a significant public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. Of particular concern are undernutrition from underweight and iron deficiency, along with overweight and obesity, all of which have negative health consequences for mothers and children. Accumulating evidence suggests that risk for poor nutritional outcomes may be mitigated by social support, yet how social support is measured varies tremendously and its effects likely vary by age, kinship and reproductive status. We examine the effects of different measures of social support on weight and iron nutrition among 677 randomly sampled women from rural Bangladesh. While we find that total support network size mitigates risk for underweight, other results point to a potential tradeoff in the effects of kin proximity, with nearby adult children associated with both lower risk for underweight and obesity and higher risk for iron deficiency and anaemia. Social support from kin may then enhance energy balance but not diet quality. Results also suggest that a woman's network of caregivers might reflect their greater need for help, as those who received more help with childcare and housework had worse iron nutrition. Overall, although some findings support the hypothesis that social support can be protective, others emphasize that social relationships often have neutral or negative effects, illustrating the kinds of tradeoffs expected from an evolutionary perspective. The complexities of these effects deserve attention in future work, particularly within public health, where what is defined as 'social support' is often assumed to be positive. This article is part of the theme issue 'Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal-child health'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mary K. Shenk
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Anne Morse
- Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Siobhán M. Mattison
- Department of Anthropology, University of NewMexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1466, USA
- US National Science Foundation, Alexandria, VA, USA
| | - Rebecca Sear
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Nurul Alam
- The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Rubhana Raqib
- The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Anjan Kumar
- The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Farjana Haque
- The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Tami Blumenfield
- Department of Anthropology, University of NewMexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1466, USA
- Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, People's Republic of China
| | - John Shaver
- Division of Humanities, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Richard Sosis
- Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Katherine Wander
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Sheppard P, Monden C. When does family size matter? Sibship size, socioeconomic status and education in England. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2020; 2:e51. [PMID: 37588352 PMCID: PMC10427454 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2020.54] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
There is still no clear understanding of the relationship between sibship size and child outcomes. Research from across disciplines, and across settings, reports conflicting results suggesting that the relationship is complex and ecologically dependent. Evolutionary models predict that parents will make reproductive decisions based on their ability to invest in each child, but that this is not necessarily equal across children. Here we use data from the Next Steps study linked to National Pupil Database to examine the relationship between sibship size and Key Stage 4 (GCSE) maths and English grades in England for children born in 1989/1990. We were interested to further examine if and how associations might differ at the ends of the socioeconomic spectrum and we also tested if direct measures of parental investment could mitigate any negative impact of larger families. Multilevel ordinary least squares regression models with a random effect for school show that sibship sizes are associated with school grades, as is socioeconomic status. Moreover, the association between sibship size and grades holds true across the socioeconomic spectrum. Birth order was only weakly associated with school results, and only significant in some models. Parental investment is important, however, and might offset the some of the negative impact of larger families, for both maths and English attainment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paula Sheppard
- Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|