Changes In Household Composition Research Articles

Rent Burden and Demographic Change Among Veterans: A Research Brief

Housing affordability has worsened considerably over recent decades, and despite some progress, veterans remain relatively overrepresented among the unhoused. Nevertheless, veterans have historically been less impacted by housing affordability problems, whether this stems from factors such as greater access to homeownership, differential labor market returns related to veteran status or differences in the composition of the veteran population compared to non-veterans. In this study, we use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) from 1976 to 2021 to document how housing unaffordability has become a growing problem among veterans who rent. We first demonstrate how the prevalence of housing cost burden among veteran renters has converged with that of the general population over the past four and a half decades. Second, we use a decomposition analysis to identify the factors most relevant to these trends observed over the span of our data, observing that changes in household composition and growing representation of veterans across disability status, race, and gender account for significant components of rising cost burden prevalence. We conclude by reviewing policy solutions tailored to groups who are overrepresented among cost burdened veterans. Overall, we find that “rent eats first” for everyone—veterans and their families included.

Evaluation of the RISE II integrated social and behavior change approach in Niger: A contribution analysis.

Niger faces a myriad of health challenges and development efforts are complicated by persistent poverty, high population growth rates, and climate change. Integrated social and behavior change (SBC) addresses health outcomes through collective action and approaches at the limited points of entry individuals have with the health system. We conducted a mixed-methods study to evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated SBC program in the Maradi, and Zinder regions of Niger. We applied contribution analysis, a theory-based plausibility analysis, to assess contributions of the intervention. We found the program contributed to improved behavioral determinants. Male engagement and income generating activities provided further support for women to practice health behaviors. However, increases in male partner out-migration was negatively associated with health outcomes. While the program did not generate statistically significant improvements in health outcomes in the intervention area, exposure to health messages and participation in women's groups were positively associated with health outcomes suggesting sustained implementation of the integrated SBC approach at scale may achieve improved health outcomes. Programs should continue to invest in health promotion efforts that include gender sensitive interventions. Further research is needed to understand how women's agency and autonomy evolves as household composition changes through male out-migration.

Exploring the association between household compositional change and mobility of subsidized householders in the United States: A life course perspective

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between household compositional change and residential mobility of subsidized householders. Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Annual Longitudinal Files 2005–2018 is used to measure household compositional change and mobility for subsidized householders in the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs. Householders are 67% more likely to move when a change in household composition occurs. Members entering the household induce larger estimated mobility effects than members exiting the household. Although the odds that a householder move are associated with a household compositional change is greatest in the Housing Choice Voucher program for tenant-based vouchers, there is still a strong association with household compositional changes and mobility in Public Housing and for project-based voucher units where options for mobility are limited. The results have implications for future research on program design factors such as occupancy standards in subsidized housing in the United States.

A Simultaneous Usage Ratio Based on Occupant Behavior: A Case Study of Intermittent Heating in an Apartment Building in Japan

It is important to reduce the building load and downsize the heat source equipment capacity during construction or renovation carried out toward the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050 in Japan. However, this sometimes results in the oversizing of the heat source equipment capacity, despite the fact that designers are engaged in the implementation of safety designs while attempting to balance between cost and risk. This study investigated the simultaneous usage ratio of heating based on occupant behavior in an apartment building with the aim of optimizing this capacity. This ratio was defined as a peak load-based approach rather than simultaneity based on the number of people using the system. First, the analysis was conducted for the heating load characteristics for each dwelling unit and each household composition. The subject of this case study was an apartment building located in Sapporo, Japan. Based on these data, a method for creating the curve of the simultaneous usage ratio to avoid a combinatorial explosion was suggested. As a result, the ratio created for about 200 dwelling units was 53.6% in an apartment building and generally stabilized when the number of dwelling units exceeded 30. Finally, a case study was attempted to analyze the influence of changes in household composition on the ratio. If the method proposed in this study for creating the curve of simultaneous usage ratios were to be applied in not only this case study but also in case studies of non-residential buildings such as offices, new results about the curves of ratios that differ from those of apartment buildings could be obtained. Therefore, this case study provides a methodology for statistically quantifying the simultaneous usage ratio as one of the factors in determining the appropriate heat source equipment capacity in the design stage.

Methodological issues of retrospective surveys for measuring mortality of highly clustered diseases: case study of the 2014–16 Ebola outbreak in Bo District, Sierra Leone

ABSTRACT Background There is a lack of empirical data on design effects (DEFF) for mortality rate for highly clustered data such as with Ebola virus disease (EVD), along with a lack of documentation of methodological limitations and operational utility of mortality estimated from cluster-sampled studies when the DEFF is high. Objectives The objectives of this paper are to report EVD mortality rate and DEFF estimates, and discuss the methodological limitations of cluster surveys when data are highly clustered such as during an EVD outbreak. Methods We analysed the outputs of two independent population-based surveys conducted at the end of the 2014–2016 EVD outbreak in Bo District, Sierra Leone, in urban and rural areas. In each area, 35 clusters of 14 households were selected with probability proportional to population size. We collected information on morbidity, mortality and changes in household composition during the recall period (May 2014 to April 2015). Rates were calculated for all-cause, all-age, under-5 and EVD-specific mortality, respectively, by areas and overall. Crude and adjusted mortality rates were estimated using Poisson regression, accounting for the surveys sample weights and the clustered design. Results Overall 980 households and 6,522 individuals participated in both surveys. A total of 64 deaths were reported, of which 20 were attributed to EVD. The crude and EVD-specific mortality rates were 0.35/10,000 person-days (95%CI: 0.23–0.52) and 0.12/10,000 person-days (95%CI: 0.05–0.32), respectively. The DEFF for EVD mortality was 5.53, and for non-EVD mortality, it was 1.53. DEFF for EVD-specific mortality was 6.18 in the rural area and 0.58 in the urban area. DEFF for non-EVD-specific mortality was 1.87 in the rural area and 0.44 in the urban area. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate a high degree of clustering; this contributed to imprecise mortality estimates, which have limited utility when assessing the impact of disease. We provide DEFF estimates that can inform future cluster surveys and discuss design improvements to mitigate the limitations of surveys for highly clustered data.

Managing household income and antiretroviral therapy adherence among people living with HIV in a low-income setting: a qualitative data from the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial in South Africa

BackgroundSouth Africa is reported to have the highest burden of HIV with an estimated 8.2 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) in 2021- despite adopting the World Health Organisation (WHO) universal HIV test and treat (UTT) recommendations in 2016. As of 2021, only an estimated 67% (5.5 million) of all PLHIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART), as per recorded clinic appointments attendance. Studies in sub-Saharan Africa show that people living in low-income households experience multiple livelihood-related barriers to either accessing or adhering to HIV treatment including lack of resources to attend to facilities and food insecurity. We describe the interactions between managing household income and ART adherence for PLHIV in low-income urban and semi-urban settings in the Western Cape, South Africa.MethodsWe draw on qualitative data collected as part of the HPTN 071 (PopART) HIV prevention trial (2016 – 2018) to provide a detailed description of the interactions between household income and self-reported ART adherence (including accessing ART and the ability to consistently take ART as prescribed) for PLHIV in the Western Cape, South Africa. We included data from 21 PLHIV (10 men and 11 women aged between 18 and 70 years old) from 13 households. As part of the qualitative component, we submitted an amendment to the ethics to recruit and interview community members across age ranges. We purposefully sampled for diversity in terms of age, gender, and household composition.ResultsWe found that the management of household income interacted with people’s experiences of accessing and adhering to ART in diverse ways. Participants reported that ART adherence was not a linear process as it was influenced by income stability, changing household composition, and other financial considerations. Participants reported that they did not have a fixed way of managing income and that subsequently caused inconsistency in their ART adherence. Participants reported that they experienced disruptions in ART access and adherence due to competing household priorities. These included difficulties balancing between accessing care and/or going to work, as well as struggling to cover HIV care-related costs above other basic needs.ConclusionOur analysis explored links between managing household income and ART adherence practices. We showed that these are complex and change over the course of treatment duration. We argued that mitigating negative impacts of income fluctuation and managing complex trade-offs in households be included in ART adherence support programmes.

Early childhood household instability, adolescent structural neural network architecture, and young adulthood depression: A 21-year longitudinal study

Unstable and unpredictable environments are linked to risk for psychopathology, but the underlying neural mechanisms that explain how instability relate to subsequent mental health concerns remain unclear. In particular, few studies have focused on the association between instability and white matter structures despite white matter playing a crucial role for neural development. In a longitudinal sample recruited from a population-based study (N = 237), household instability (residential moves, changes in household composition, caregiver transitions in the first 5 years) was examined in association with adolescent structural network organization (network integration, segregation, and robustness of white matter connectomes; Mage = 15.87) and young adulthood anxiety and depression (six years later). Results indicate that greater instability related to greater global network efficiency, and this association remained after accounting for other types of adversity (e.g., harsh parenting, neglect, food insecurity). Moreover, instability predicted increased depressive symptoms via increased network efficiency even after controlling for previous levels of symptoms. Exploratory analyses showed that structural connectivity involving the left fronto-lateral and temporal regions were most strongly related to instability. Findings suggest that structural network efficiency relating to household instability may be a neural mechanism of risk for later depression and highlight the ways in which instability modulates neural development.

Household Splitting Process and Food Security in Malawi

Despite the frequent changes in household composition in Sub-Saharan Africa, the literature on the household division process is sparse, with no evidence of its effect on food security. This paper addresses the topic in Malawi, where the fission process is evident and malnutrition is a severe problem. Using the Integrated Household Panel Dataset, this study applies the difference-in-difference model with the propensity score matching technique to compare matched groups of households that did and did not split between 2010 and 2013. The results suggest that coping strategies adopted by poor households and life course events determine household fission in Malawi, a process that benefits household food security in the short term. On average, the food consumption score is 3.74 units higher among households that split between 2010 and 2013 compared to the matched households that did not. However, the household division might have long-run adverse effects on food insecurity, especially for poor households due to the adoption of coping strategies that might compromise their human capital and income-generating activities. Therefore, this process warrants attention for the more accurate understanding, design, and evaluation of food security interventions.

Who are the In-Work Poor? A Study of the Profile and Income Mobility Among the In-Work Poor in Sweden from 1987 to 2016

We studied the development, profile, and income mobility among individuals in in-work poverty in Sweden over a period of 30 years using data covering the entire population on a yearly basis from 1987 to 2016. By introducing a more solid work requirement that stretches over more time than the frequently used ‘seven-month rule’, we make sure that the in-work poor person in our study is mainly working. Our results show that the profile has changed: in 1987, the typical in-work poor person was a native-born single woman, but in 2016, they were a married man born outside of Sweden. When modelling income mobility over two 5-year periods, our results show that changes in household composition explain both upward and downward mobility and that it has become harder to change income position. Interpreting the results on a structural level, two conclusions can be drawn. As in-work poverty is no longer female-dominated, the Swedish policy for gender equality has been successful. As it is now closely connected with immigration status, the integration of immigrants into the labour market must improve.

Adverse childhood experiences and fronto-subcortical structures in the developing brain.

The impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) differs between individuals and depends on the type and timing of the ACE. The aim of this study was to assess the relation between various recently occurred ACEs and morphology in the developing brain of children between 8 and 11 years of age. We measured subcortical volumes, cortical thickness, cortical surface area and fractional anisotropy in regions of interest in brain scans acquired in 1,184 children from the YOUth cohort. ACEs were based on parent-reports of recent experiences and included: financial problems; parental mental health problems; physical health problems in the family; substance abuse in the family; trouble with police, justice or child protective services; change in household composition; change in housing; bereavement; divorce or conflict in the family; exposure to violence in the family and bullying victimization. We ran separate linear models for each ACE and each brain measure. Results were adjusted for the false discovery rate across regions of interest. ACEs were reported for 83% of children in the past year. Children were on average exposed to two ACEs. Substance abuse in the household was associated with larger cortical surface area in the left superior frontal gyrus, t(781) = 3.724, pFDR = 0.0077, right superior frontal gyrus, t(781) = 3.409, pFDR = 0.0110, left pars triangularis, t(781) = 3.614, pFDR = 0.0077, left rostral middle frontal gyrus, t(781) = 3.163, pFDR = 0.0195 and right caudal anterior cingulate gyrus, t(781) = 2.918, pFDR = 0.0348. Household exposure to violence (was associated with lower fractional anisotropy in the left and right cingulum bundle hippocampus region t(697) = −3.154, pFDR = 0.0101 and t(697) = −3.401, pFDR = 0.0085, respectively. Lower household incomes were more prevalent when parents reported exposure to violence and the mean parental education in years was lower when parents reported substance abuse in the family. No other significant associations with brain structures were found. Longer intervals between adversity and brain measurements and longitudinal measurements may reveal whether more evidence for the impact of ACEs on brain development will emerge later in life.

Water Consumption Pattern Analysis Using Biclustering: When, Why and How

Sensors deployed within water distribution systems collect consumption data that enable the application of data analysis techniques to extract essential information. Time series clustering has been traditionally applied for modeling end-user water consumption profiles to aid water management. However, its effectiveness is limited by the diversity and local nature of consumption patterns. In addition, existing techniques cannot adequately handle changes in household composition, disruptive events (e.g., vacations), and consumption dynamics at different time scales. In this context, biclustering approaches provide a natural alternative to detect groups of end-users with coherent consumption profiles during local time periods while addressing the aforementioned limitations. This work discusses when, why and how to apply biclustering techniques for water consumption data analysis, and further proposes a methodology to this end. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work introducing biclustering to water consumption data analysis. Results on data from a real-world water distribution system—Quinta do Lago, Portugal—confirm the potentialities of the proposed approach for pattern discovery with guarantees of statistical significance and robustness that entities can rely on for strategic planning.

Job precariousness and poverty dynamics among households with children

In Spain, 70% of children in poverty live in households with one or more workers; equally, households with children make up the majority of households in in-work poverty (53%) despite representing only 27% of all households. However, in-work poverty and child poverty are often thought of as separate problems. Most analyses on in-work poverty in Spain use data from a single year and focus on working individuals. However, since households share needs and resources, understanding the factors that increase the risk of poverty requires studying households. In this work, carried out at the Demographic Studies Centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, we adopt a dynamic perspective to analyse the interrelationship between child and in-work poverty, and specifically the high in-work poverty rates in households with children and adolescents. Using longitudinal data from the Living Conditions Survey (2017-2020), we examine the role played by childbirth/adoption, the presence of children in the household and their age in the processes of impoverishment. We find that in 2020 only 4% of households entering in-work poverty experienced an increase in the number of children and adolescents in the household. In contrast, 37% of entrants experienced a decrease in income without decreasing the number of workers (for example, due to a temporary period of unemployment), and 29% a reduction in unemployment benefit income. Households with children tend to have greater difficulties in escaping poverty, which translates into longer periods in in-work poverty. We conclude that changes in employment status are more relevant than changes in household composition for understanding child and working poverty. Additionally, the role of risk factors such as temporary employment is compounded in households with children, further reducing their poverty exit rates. Reducing child poverty requires tackling in-work poverty and vice versa

Understanding postal delivery areas in the Republic of Korea using multiple unsupervised learning approaches

Changes in household composition and the residential environment have had a considerable impact on the features of postal delivery regions in recent years, resulting in a large increase in the overall workload of domestic postal delivery services. In this paper, we provide complex analysis results for postal delivery areas using various unsupervised learning approaches. First, we extract highly influential features using several feature-engineering methods. Then, using quantitative and qualitative cluster analyses, we find the distinctive traits and semantics of postal delivery zones. Unsupervised learning approaches are useful for successfully grouping postal service zones, according to our findings. Furthermore, by comparing a postal delivery region to other areas in the same group, workload balancing was achieved.

Household transitions between ages 5 and 15 and educational outcomes: Fathers and grandparents in Peru.

Latin America has high rates of single motherhood and intergenerational coresidence, resulting in children experiencing changes in household composition - particularly with respect to fathers and grandparents. In other contexts, such changes have been shown to influence educational outcomes. To test if the presence of grandparents and fathers in the household are differentially associated with educational outcomes during schooling years in Peru. Young Lives longitudinal data consist of around 2,000 children who were followed from age 1 to age 15 between 2002 and 2017. Using value-added and child fixed effects models, I examine if the number of changes in household structure involving fathers and grandparents, the type of change (exit or entrance), and the identity of the household members are associated with cognitive outcomes. Persistence was tested as well as heterogeneous associations by child's age at transition and disadvantage. More than half the children experienced a change in household composition between ages 5 and 15. Father separation was associated with worse cognitive scores and lower likelihood of being on-grade. This was strongest if separation occurred when children were older. Grandparent presence in the household was not as strongly correlated with child outcomes, but results suggest that children have better cognitive performance after grandparent separation from the household. Associations between household composition and child outcomes were stronger if children were disadvantaged. This research provides evidence that fathers and grandparents are both important contributors to child educational outcomes in a context where three-generational households are common.

Residents’ views on adaptable housing: a virtual reality-based study

Housing adaptability is often said to be a characteristic that benefits the residents. But is there an actual demand from residents? This study asks whether and what kind of value residents place on adaptable housing. The research, situated in Finland, combines interviews involving seven varied households together with their experiences of adaptable flats in a 3D CAVE immersive virtual reality environment. The participants were first interviewed about their current life, housing situations and expected future changes in household composition or housing needs. For the virtual viewings, flats with systematically transformable floor plans were designed to anticipate situations that could occur during people’s housing careers (e.g. the birth of a child, working from home, a child leaving home, additional healthcare, etc.). The participants walked through virtual flats selected for them based on the first interview. Afterwards, they were re-interviewed, focusing on the value they place on the presented adaptability. All households identified functional benefits for their current or anticipated situation, and many expressed a willingness to buy a home with the demonstrated adaptability characteristics. Most also described economic security that adaptability provides (e.g. renting or selling a part of the flat separately) and the benefits of remaining long term in a flat. <em><strong>Practice relevance</strong></em> In the adaptability discourse, residents’ opinions have been heard to a very limited degree. More typically, adaptability researchers or architects make the case for adaptability on the residents’ behalf. According to recent research, some architects assume developers are disinterested in building more adaptable flats partly because no real market demand by inhabitants is believed to exist. The findings of the current study demonstrate that residents need to be properly informed about the benefits of adaptability by the housing provider. Virtual reality can be a useful tool for demonstrating adaptability characteristics. When sufficiently informed, the participants of the current study considered adaptability as functionally beneficial for the family and a desirable feature that would increase their willingness to buy and pay a premium. To demonstrate a potential market or its absence in a given context, residents’ views should be sought more widely and more often.

Do Different Types of Households Use Outsourced Domestic Cleaning Services for Different Reasons? An Explorative Study in South Africa

In recent years, many households have shifted from employing a full-time or part-time domestic worker to using an outsourced domestic cleaning services company that specialises in professional household cleaning services. Few studies have focused on outsourced domestic cleaning services from clients’ perspectives. While there is limited research on the topic, a possible reason for the increase in outsourced domestic cleaning services might be that the domestic labour needs of the middle-class are changing. The decline in the stigma of voluntary childlessness and better educational and career opportunities for women have impacted household compositions. There has been a rise in one-person households and couples without children. These changes affect how domestic work is approached. Some women continue to perform domestic labour themselves, while others employ domestic workers or use outsourced domestic cleaning services. Against this background, this study sought to establish how changes in household compositions are linked to peoples’ preferences to use outsourced domestic cleaning services to take care of their domestic cleaning needs rather than employing a domestic worker on a full-time or part-time basis. This study draws on 18 qualitative interviews with clients of domestic cleaning services and shows that people who live alone, as a childless couple or in an empty-nest household, use outsourced domestic cleaning services for their convenience, efficiency, and flexibility. Couples with children tend to rely on personal help when it comes to care work but outsource less emotional domestic duties to domestic cleaning service companies. This study contributes to new insights by showing that domestic cleaning services are used by households who can afford and require flexible cleaning services offered by outsourced domestic cleaning services.

Housing disease and public school finances

We propose a new mechanism to explain part of the large increase in expenditures per student in U.S. public schools in the 1990s and 2000s: housing disease is a fiscal externality from housing markets in which unexpected booms generate extra revenues that school administrators have incentives to spend. We establish the importance of housing disease by (i) assembling a novel microdata set containing the universe of housing transactions for a large sample of school districts; and (ii) using the timelines of school district housing booms to disentangle the effects of housing disease from reverse causality and changes in household composition. We find housing price elasticities of per-pupil expenditures of 0.16–0.20, which in turn account for 20 percent of the growth in public school spending for districts with at least one housing boom. School districts primarily spent the extra resources on instruction and capital projects, not on administrative expenditures, suggesting that the cost increase was accompanied by improvements in the quality of school inputs.

Impact of Changes in Household Composition and Disease Prevalence on Family Medicine

Impact of Changes in Household Composition and Disease Prevalence on Family Medicine

Protector and friend: Turning points and discursive constructions of the stepparent role

AbstractObjectiveTo understand turning points (TPs) in the development of positive stepparent–stepchild communication and relationships.BackgroundScholars stress the importance of communication in co‐constructing healthy stepparent–stepchild relationships. The researchers focused on positive stepparenting via understanding transformational turning point (TP) events across time. Research questions explored how stepparents with an overall positive relationship with a stepchild characterize TPs and the discursive constructions of the stepparent role.MethodThe team analyzed 877 pages of data from 37 in‐depth interviews with stepparents who described self‐identified TP events, reflected in visual graphs of 279 TPs.ResultsData were coded into 11 TP types, focused on structural and role changes for stepparents, co‐constructed over time. The top three TP types were changes in household composition, communicating support through offering protection and being present/available, and role change, most frequently by functioning as a parent versus friend. All the TPs highlight discursive work to forge positive stepparenting roles.ConclusionsThe findings extend earlier studies of stepchildren's experiences and communication practices that ground resilience to manage relational resources through investments of quality time and enactment of social support.ImplicationsApplications suggest support for stepparents to have quality interactions with stepchildren and training to develop healthy communication practices and facilitate resilience.

Assessment of Excess Mortality and Household Income in Rural Bangladesh During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020

A slow or incomplete civil registry makes it impossible to determine excess mortality due to COVID-19 and difficult to inform policy. To quantify the association of the COVID-19 pandemic with excess mortality and household income in rural Bangladesh in 2020. This repeated survey study is based on an in-person census followed by 2 rounds of telephone calls. Data were collected from a sample of 135 villages within a densely populated 350-km2 rural area of Bangladesh. Household data were obtained first in person and subsequently over the telephone. For the analysis, mortality data were stratified by month, age, sex, and household education. Mortality rates were modeled by bayesian multilevel regression, and the strata were aggregated to the population by poststratification. Data analysis was performed from February to April 2021. Date and cause of any changes in household composition, as well as changes in income and food availability. Mortality rates were compared for 2019 and 2020, both without adjustment and after adjustment for nonresponse and differences in demographic variables between surveys. Income and food availability reported for January, May, and November 2020 were also compared. Enumerators collected data from an initial 16 054 households in January 2020; 14 551 households (91%) responded when contacted again by telephone in May 2020, and 11 933 households (74%)responded when reached again over the telephone in November 2020, for a total of 58 806 individuals (29 726 female participants [50.5%]; mean [SD] age, 26.4 [19.8] years). A total of 276 deaths were reported between February and the end of October 2020 for the subset of the population that could be contacted twice over the telephone, slightly below the 289 deaths reported for the same population over the same period in 2019. After adjustment for survey nonresponse and poststratification, 2020 mortality changed by -8% (95% CI, -21% to 7%) compared with an annualized mortality of 6.1 deaths per 1000 individuals in 2019. However, in May 2020, salaried primary income earners reported a 40% decrease in monthly income (from 17 485 to 10 835 Bangladeshi Taka), and self-employed earners reported a 60% decrease in monthly income (23 083 to 8521 Bangladeshi Taka), with only a small recovery observed by November 2020. In this study of households in rural Bangladesh, all-cause mortality was lower in 2020 compared with 2019. Restrictions imposed by the government may have limited the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic in rural areas, although economic data suggest that these restrictions need to be accompanied by expanded welfare programs.