Household Dynamics Research Articles

Disability-related inequalities in the prevalence of loneliness across the lifespan: trends from Australia, 2003 to 2020.

Experiencing loneliness can be distressing and increasing evidence indicates that being lonely is associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes. Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that people with disability have increased risk of experiencing loneliness compared to people without disability. However, we do not know if these inequalities have changed over time. This study investigated the prevalence of loneliness for people with disability in Australia annually from 2003 to 2020 to examine whether disability-related inequalities in loneliness have changed over time, and disaggregated results for subgroups of people with disability by age group, sex, and disability group. We used annual data (2003-2020) from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. Loneliness was measured by a single question assessing the subjective experience of loneliness. For each wave, we calculated population-weighted age-standardised estimates of the proportion of people experiencing loneliness for people with and without disability. We then calculated the absolute and relative inequalities in loneliness between people with and without disability for each wave. Analyses were stratified by 10-year age groups, sex, and disability group (sensory or speech, physical, intellectual or learning, psychological, brain injury or stroke, other). From 2003 to 2020, the prevalence of loneliness was greater for people with disability, such that people with disability were 1.5 to 1.9 times more likely to experience loneliness than people without disability. While the prevalence of loneliness decreased for people without disability between 2003 and 2020, the prevalence of loneliness did not decrease for people with disability during this period. Inequalities in loneliness were more substantial for people with intellectual or learning disabilities, psychological disability, and brain injury or stroke. This study confirms that people with disability have increased risk of loneliness compared to people without disability. We add to the existing evidence by demonstrating that disability-related inequalities in loneliness have persisted for two decades in Australia without improvement. Our findings indicate that addressing inequalities in loneliness for people with disability is a critical public health concern given that loneliness is associated with a wide range of poor health outcomes.

Age at first drink and its influence on alcohol use behaviours in young adulthood: Evidence from an Australian household-based panel study

BackgroundPublic health guidelines recommend delaying the initiation age for alcohol. However, the causal link between age-at-first-drink (AFD) and future alcohol use in young adulthood is uncertain. This study examined the association between AFD and alcohol-related outcomes at age 20 years using an Australian sample. MethodsData were obtained from Waves 1–19 (years 2001–2019) of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey on 20-year-olds with responses across ≥3 consecutive waves (n = 2278). The AFD for each respondent (between 15 and 20 years) was analysed relative to Australian legal drinking age (18 years). Inverse probability treatment weighting was used to evaluate associations between AFD and four outcomes at age 20 years: risk of current alcohol use; quantity of weekly alcohol consumption; risk of binge drinking; and frequency of binge drinking. Adjustments were made for confounders (e.g., heavy drinking by parents). Robustness of study findings was evaluated using several diagnostic tests/sensitivity analyses. ResultsAmong 20-year-olds, those with an AFD of 15–16 years consumed significantly more alcohol per week compared to an AFD of 18 years. Additionally, 20-year-old drinkers with an AFD of 16 years were significantly more likely to binge drink (though this association was likely confounded). An inverse dose-response relationship was observed between AFD and weekly alcohol consumption at 20 years, where a higher AFD led to lower alcohol consumption. ConclusionStudy findings indicate an association between a higher AFD and consuming less alcohol in young adulthood, which could potentially support the scale-up of prevention programs to delay AFD among Australian adolescents.

Associations of nuptiality perceptions, financial difficulties, and socio-demographic factors with mental health status in Australian adults: Analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey.

This study examined the association of nuptial/relationship factors, financial difficulties, and socio-demographic factors with the mental health status of Australian adults. Cross-sectional quantitative study design. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey wave 19, 6846 adults were included in the analysis. Mental health was measured using the mental component summary (MCS) subscale of the Short-Form Health Survey SF-36. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were used to examine the predictors of mental health status. Overall, 7.1% of the participants reported poor mental health status. Individual financial difficulty factors explained 3.2% (p<0.001) of the variance in mental health scores. In addition, financial difficulties were negatively associated with mental health status. Nuptiality and relationship factors accounted for 9.8% (p<0.001) of the variance in mental health status. The study suggests negative marital or relationship perceptions and financial difficulties are significant factors accounting for poor mental health. This finding suggests the need for more policy attention toward the social determinants of poor mental health especially nuptiality or relationship perceptions which have received less policy and research attention in Australia.

Data Resource Profile: Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey.

Data Resource Profile: Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey.

How are intra-household dynamics, gender roles and time availability related to food access and children's diet quality during the Covid-19 lockdown?

The association between food access and children's diet quality has been documented mainly from its external dimension (e.g., availability, prices, food properties, and marketing). However, existing research has underscored that the external food environment cannot fully account for variations in children's diet quality, even amid the COVID-19 lockdown. It is increasingly evident that elements within the domestic food environment also play a crucial role in shaping this relationship. Specifically, gender roles influence how food is procured and consumed, along with challenges related to time constraints. This study explores the influence of the domestic time-gender axis and household dynamics in food access and children's dietary quality in 14 female-headed households in Santiago, Chile, during the COVID-19 lockdown. Employing a photo-elicitation exercise, we engaged with families residing in the same urban neighborhood but exhibiting varying levels of dietary quality among their children. Our analysis utilized a framework incorporating both socio-ecological food environment and gender theories. Our findings show that within these households, only one unit of "person-time" was available to address all food and caregiving tasks. Due to an unequal gender system, this limited time allocation was disproportionately absorbed by women, who were already burdened with multiple responsibilities. The lack of time favors the consumption of ultra-processed foods and hinders the intake of fresh foods. Other associated intrahousehold dynamics, such as children's fussiness and special diets, accentuates these time scarcity consequences. These difficulties were further exacerbated by strategies adopted in response to the COVID-19 lockdown, however, in families where food-related responsibilities were shared more equitably the lockdown was less disrupting. These results indicate that on top of external food environment policies, comprehensive gender-transformative policies that include food socialization processes are needed to promote healthier diets among all.

When Does the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy Begin?*

Research to date has failed to generate a comprehensive understanding of the source of the gender gap in financial literacy in adulthood. Using microdata from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and an analysis covering four age groups (15–19, 20–24, 25–29 and 30–34), this paper suggests that the gender gap starts young and well before individuals enter adulthood. The analysis also suggests that that raw (unadjusted) gender gap likely underestimates the underlying gap. It is important to establish whether the gap begins before or after children enter school, since policy aimed at addressing it would be very different.

Housing affordability stress and mental health: The role of financial wellbeing

AbstractUsing data from wave 20 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, we provide a descriptive examination of the relationship between housing affordability stress (HAS) and a multi‐item measure of financial wellbeing across tenure types and test whether good financial wellbeing is protective of the negative mental health effects of HAS. We find that HAS is associated with lower financial wellbeing and that this is differentially distributed by tenure, with renters who experience HAS reporting, on average, lower financial wellbeing than owners. This suggests that HAS, which focuses on income to define housing stress, is different to financial wellbeing. Being in control of finances and feeling financially secure are important components of the way in which financial hardship impacts mental health. Renters may be more likely to experience these issues than owners; hence, they fare worse in terms of their mental health when in HAS than owners do.

Ethnic diversity and homeownership

AbstractWe examine the impact of neighbourhood ethnic diversity on homeownership using 19 waves of household panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. We find that ethnic diversity is associated with a lower probability of homeownership. Specifically, a movement from complete ethnic homogeneity to complete heterogeneity is associated with up to a 31.3 percentage point decrease in the probability of homeownership. Our results also show that trust, neighbourhood satisfaction and belongingness, which are lower in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods, are important channels through which ethnic diversity operates to reduce the probability of homeownership. We suggest policies to promote trust in multicultural societies with high levels of ethnic diversity with a view to addressing the negative relationship between ethnic diversity and homeownership.

Distressed yet bonded: A longitudinal investigation of the COVID-19 pandemic's silver lining effects on life satisfaction.

It is a common understanding that the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) significantly harmed mental health. However, findings on changes in overall life satisfaction have been mixed and inconclusive. To address this puzzling phenomenon, we draw upon the domain-specific perspective of well-being and research on catastrophe compassion and propose that the pandemic can have opposing effects on mental health and communal satisfaction, which then differently relate to people's overall life satisfaction. Longitudinal analyses of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) Survey of Australia (N = 12,093) showed that while there was a greater decrease in mental health in the first COVID-19 pandemic year (2019-2020) than in the previous years (2017-2019), an increase in communal satisfaction also occurred, demonstrating a potential silver lining effect of the pandemic on people's satisfaction with family, community, and neighborhood. Moreover, consistent with socioemotional selectivity theory, changes in mental health, communal satisfaction, and life satisfaction were related to age, such that older adults generally reported less harmful and more beneficial psychological changes. We further found that age was associated with stronger associations of mental health and communal satisfaction with life satisfaction during the pandemic year. Overall, our findings speak to the importance of communal life in life satisfaction during the pandemic and age-related differences in the process, shedding light on the need to devise customized support to address inequalities in pandemic effects on public well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding Household Dynamics From the Ground Up: A Longitudinal Study From a Rural South African Setting

Investigations into household structure in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) provide important insight into how families manage domestic life in response to resource allocation and caregiving needs during periods of rapid sociopolitical and health-related challenges. Recent evidence on household structure in many LMICs contrasts with long-standing viewpoints of worldwide convergence to a Western nuclearized household model. Here, we adopt a household-centered theoretical and methodological framework to investigate longitudinal patterns and dynamics of household structure in a rural South African setting during a period of high AIDS-related mortality and socioeconomic change. Data come from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System (2003–2015). Using latent transition models, we derived six distinct household types by examining conditional interdependency between household heads’ characteristics, members’ age composition, and migration status. More than half of households were characterized by their complex and multigenerational profiles, with considerable within-typology variation in household size and dependency structure. Transition analyses showed stability of household types under female headship, while higher proportions of nuclearized household types dissolved over time. Household dissolution was closely linked to prior mortality experiences—particularly, following death of a male head. Our findings highlight the need to better conceptualize and contextualize household changes across populations and over time.

Transitory or Chronic? Gendered Loneliness Trajectories over Widowhood and Separation in Older Age.

We investigate how loneliness develops over the marital dissolution process in older age (i.e., transition at or after age 50) while paying close attention to heterogeneities by the dissolution pathway-widowhood and separation-and gender. Using data from over 8,000 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey respondents, we assess the association of interest using fixed effects regressions. Findings indicate that loneliness increased in the year before widowhood or separation among both women and men. Levels spiked in the year of dissolution, particularly for widowhood but less for separation. Widowed men were substantially more affected than widowed women, and gender differences were negligible for separation. Although loneliness levels gradually declined, widowed men remained vulnerable for remarkably long periods. Such chronic loneliness might be linked to other health disadvantages. These findings highlight the importance of long-term and gender-specific approaches to social support and integration after marital dissolution.

The Impact of Household Dynamics on Land-Use Change in China: Past Experiences and Future Implications

Population is the main driver of land-system and environmental change. However, population is usually treated as a variable that only considers the population number, and multi-dimensional population structure is largely ignored. There has been a systematic transition of population structure in the past several decades, including changes in household structure, increasing aging populations, increasing divorce rates, and increasing human migration. All of these changes have direct or indirect impacts on land use and environmental issues. Here, taking China as an example and using statistical analysis, namely the Mann–Kendall trend test and a land-use-transition matrix, we examine the relationship between household dynamics and land-use change in China by examining changes in household structure and land-use changes in China between 1980 and 2020. The results show the following three groups of findings. (1) The number of households increased by 130.95% from 1980 to 2020, while the population only increased by 42.83%; the size of households decreased from 4.41 to 2.62 in China from 1982 to 2020; and the household dynamics varied from province to province, which is affected by urbanization rate and economic development. (2) Birth rates, divorce rates, population aging, and migration all affect household structure, which directly or indirectly affect changes in land-use systems. (3) The changes in China’s land use are interlinked and interact with changes in household structure, which is evident in the increase in Residential land use and the abandonment of arable land. The rising household number increased the area of urban and rural settlement, leading to the fragmentation of cultivated land and the reduction of ecological land. To regulate land-use change for sustainable development, future land-use planning should take into account the effect of household dynamics and should reduce the negative effects of household dynamics on land systems and environmental change.

Non-cognitive traits and homeownership in Australia

AbstractWe empirically examine the nexus between Locus of Control (LoC) and housing tenure in Australia. Drawing on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey for the period 2001–2021, we find that being internal on LoC is associated with a higher likelihood of homeownership and transitioning from renting to owning a home, while being external on LoC is more likely to lead to the opposite. This result is consistent across multiple robustness checks. We also find evidence that social capital and income are transmission mechanisms through which LoC influences housing tenure. We provide some suggestions for policy.

Scenarios for Adoption of Low-Carbon Household Cooking Fuels in Biomass-Dependent Informal Settlements of Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Analysis of Kisumu City

The use of unclean cooking fuels is widespread in urban informal settlements in Africa, while the adoption of clean fuels is largely done by stacking with traditional biomass fuels. Rapid urbanisation has aggravated the situation since it hampers effective planning for climate action and the provision of clean and affordable cooking fuels. It is, therefore, essential to deploy effective household carbon emissions (HCE) reduction strategies that are cognizant of the fuel use patterns and household dynamics of households in urban informal settlements. This study highlights the status of HCE in Kisumu City’s informal settlements and subsequently explores possible pathways for reducing emissions through the adoption of low-carbon cooking fuels. The paper features existing and plausible emissions scenarios in the informal settlements of Kisumu City. The study adopts a descriptive correlation research design targeting a sample 419 households drawn from seven informal settlements of Kisumu City. Binary logistic regression is used to establish the relationships that exist between household characteristics and the adoption of clean fuels. Multiple linear regression analysis reveals existing and probable emission pathways, informed by varying household characteristics and adjusting fuel-stacking scenarios. Household income has a positive correlation with adoption of clean fuel combinations (p&lt;0.01), while household size does not have a significant relationship with adoption of clean fuels. The annual HCE attributable to cooking in Kisumu City’s informal settlements is 976 KgCO2. Fuel stacking nuances are vital considerations in choosing practical emission reduction pathways for these households. Emission reduction scenario that contemplates transitioning households that use charcoal in their fuel stacks to using LPG has the highest emission reduction potential of 72%. Although an emission scenario that includes LPG in the fuel mix of households that do not use it has an emission reduction potential of just 9%, it is the most realistic option since it accommodates the phenomenon of fuel stacking

The co‐occurrence of food insecurity and other hardships in Australia

AbstractFood insecurity has many causes, including insufficient incomes, competing expenditure needs, and inadequate facilities to store and prepare food. The characteristics that contribute to food insecurity may also contribute to other co‐occurring hardships. This article examines people's experiences of food insecurity, poor financial wellbeing, poor physical health and long‐term disability, low social support, inadequate economic resources, and housing stress, using 2020 data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. It finds that food insecurity typically co‐occurs with other hardships. Nearly two‐thirds of food‐insecure Australians experience another hardship, and just under one‐third experience multiple other hardships.

Comparative Analysis of COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Mental Health Effects on Children with Household Healthcare Workers vs. Those Without

Purpose: The primary objective of this pilot study is to investigate and comprehend the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's mental health based on the presence of household members working in healthcare settings.&#x0D; Methods: Permission was secured from the Research Department of a densely populated county in the state of Georgia. Subsequently, an online survey was conducted among participants consisting of high school and middle school students, aiming to evaluate their mental health experiences three years following the onset of the pandemic in the United States. The survey included questions related to fear, sadness, preferences for online schooling, changes in sleeping habits, and whether anyone in the household worked in a healthcare setting. Responses were collected on a Likert scale with options "Yes," "No," and "Maybe."&#x0D; Findings: Among both groups of children about two thirds reported no increase in fear three years after the onset of pandemic. Around 25% of the children in both groups reported increased sadness. The majority of children in either group did not prefer online schooling.&#x0D; Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This survey underscores the need to consider household dynamics, specifically the presence of healthcare workers, when addressing children's sleeping habits during global stress situations such as pandemics.

Financialisation of the Maltese household? Household debt dynamics, the mortgage market, and housing in Malta

Financialisation of the Maltese household? Household debt dynamics, the mortgage market, and housing in Malta

Adoption of Digital Agro-Advisory Services Among Smallholder Farmers: Patterns of the Innovation-Decision Process

Various digital agricultural advisory services have been developed to effectively exchange agriculture related information, skill and knowledge with the farmers. However, innovation and readiness of such technology does not guarantee that it will be adopted by the farmers. This study focuses on understanding farmers’ adoption of digital agroand non-adoption. A mixed-method research was conducted with 50 farmers of Kageshwori Manohara Municipality of Bagmati province, Nepal, who were also the users of mobile-based agriculture application, innovation theory was used as an analytical lens for data interpretation. terms of their adoption decision i.e., passive rejecters, active rejecters as digital literacy, farmer’s agricultural needs, communication channel, farmer’s social network, socio-economic and household dynamics and technological cluster. The study further argues that such innovations need to incorporate information that not just aligns with the needs of any farmers but should also be based on the local context.

Portfolio Composition and Home Ownership Importance for the Wealth Distribution in Europe

The paper analyzes household portfolio dynamics in Europe, focusing on the period from 2010 to 2017 using data from the European Central Bank’s Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). The study examines the evolution of household portfolios after the 2008 financial crisis, with housing assets found to be one of the key drivers. On the aggregate level, the household portfolio remained stable between 2010 and 2017. Housing importance remained crucial during all the time and drove the majority of portfolio performance for households in 40–99 percentiles of the wealth distribution. With the evolution of household portfolios, age cohorts 45–54, 65 and older strengthen their positions by increasing the share of their owned assets in comparison to other age cohorts, which lost part of their shares. I conclude the paper with some stylized facts showing the relationship between home ownership, the share of portfolio in housing assets and wealth inequality between countries. The stylized facts provide evidence that household portfolios significantly concentrated in housing assets during the analyzed decade. Furthermore, the transition of households from renters to home owners contributed significantly to the changes in wealth inequality that occurred after the 2008 financial crisis.

Social Differentiation and Household Dynamics Associated with Early Season Shea Nut Collection and Trading in Burkina Faso

Originally a domestic product used by West African rural population, shea nut has become an international commodity exported all over the world. However, local periodic markets remain a central site of exchange and nut trading for many women shea nut collectors in Burkina Faso. Using survey data from Burkina Faso, this paper explores the ways in which shea nut collectors navigate shea nut trading. Many collectors engage in early nut trading during the farming season to cover their household subsistence needs, despite the lower shea nut price at that time of the year. The results show that this early market consists mostly of better off shea nut collectors buying nuts from worse off collectors, as the lead firms and wholesalers tend to enter the market later in the season. While the exchanged volumes remain small, this highlights social differentiation among women shea nut collectors, as the better-off collectors are able to invest their shea income in other sources of income, while the other collectors rely on shea for their reproduction needs. Furthermore, this social differentiation is also reflected in different household dynamics and bargaining strategies between spouses, as better-off collectors tend to collaborate to a larger extent with their partners than the other collectors.