Leyla Karimli

The study tests the effect of poverty-reduction intervention on family functioning reported by AIDS-orphaned children in extended families in Southern Uganda by asking two questions: (1) based on children’s reports, how does poverty reduction intervention affect family functioning? and (2) to what extent do these effects vary by a child’s gender and orphanhood status? Informed by the social causation theory, family stress model, and asset theory, the study aims to address the existing knowledge gap on effects of poverty reduction interventions on family functioning in low-income families caring for AIDS orphaned children in Uganda. We ran multilevel regression models using longitudinal data collected in a cluster-randomized controlled trial from N = 1410 children (n = 621 boys and n = 789 girls) recruited from 48 rural primary schools in Uganda. Survey data was collected every 12 months over the course of 5 years. The average age of children at enrollment was 13 years. We found significant positive effects of the intervention on family cohesion, family communication, and child-caregiver relationship. Effects vary by child’s gender and orphanhood category. Intervention improves family communication for boys, while improving family cohesion and quality of child-caregiver relationship for girls. Single maternal orphans reported improved family communication, while single paternal orphans reported improved child-caregiver relationship. Poverty reduction interventions are important to improve family functioning for low-income families. Variations by child’s gender and orphanhood status have not been reported in previous studies, and our findings underscore the importance of continued research in this area.

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine associations among economic strain, parenting self‐efficacy, parenting satisfaction, and parent primary language in a universally low‐income sample of parents with newborns.Background: Previous research links increased economic strain to lower levels of parenting self‐efficacy and parenting satisfaction among socioeconomically diverse parents with older children. Little research has examined whether primary language shapes the associations among economic strain, parenting self‐efficacy, and parenting satisfaction.Method: Parents (n = 194, M_age = 30.91) completed self‐report surveys measuring economic strain, parenting self‐efficacy, and parenting satisfaction. Parents' ethnic self‐identification and primary language were used to stratify parents into three groups: Latinx Spanish speakers, Latinx English speakers, and non‐Latinx English speakers.Results: Regression analyses revealed that economic strain was negatively associated with both parenting self‐efficacy and parenting satisfaction. Further, the negative association between economic strain and parenting self‐efficacy was stronger for Latinx Spanish speakers.Conclusion: Economic strain may negatively influence parenting self‐efficacy and parenting satisfaction during the newborn period. Parents whose primary language is Spanish may be disproportionately affected by economic strain.Implications: Parents of newborns may benefit from increased economic supports in linguistically responsive pediatric care and social service settings.

Despite significant progress in poverty measurement, few studies have undertaken an in-depth comparison of monetary and multidimensional measures in the context of low-income countries and fewer still in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet the differences can be particularly consequential in these settings. We address this gap by applying a distinct analytical strategy to the case of Rwanda. Using data from two waves of the Rwandan Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey, we combine comparing poverty rates cross-sectionally and over time, examining the overlaps and differences in the two measures, investigating poverty rates within population sub-groups, and estimating several statistical models to assess the differences between the two measures in identifying poverty risk factors. We find that using a monetary measure alone does not capture high incidence of multidimensional poverty in both waves, that it is possible to be multidimensional poor without being monetary poor, and that using a monetary measure alone overlooks significant change in multidimensional poverty over time. The two measures also differ in which poverty risk factors they put emphasis on. Relying only on monetary measures in low-income sub-Saharan Africa can send inaccurate signals to policymakers regarding the optimal design of social policies as well as monitoring their effectiveness.

Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, poverty alleviation programmes have struggled to reach the ultra-poor. To address this challenge, a growing number of agencies are adopting a ‘graduation approach’ to moving out of extreme poverty into food security and sustainable livelihoods. This study examines the effects of an integrated graduation programme (combining the economic strengthening component with the child well-being sensitisation component) on the economic well-being of women and households in the Nord region of Burkina Faso. Repeated-measures data were collected at three time points from 360 female adult caregivers in a three-arm cluster-randomised controlled trial conducted among the poorest households in the region. Results of multilevel random-intercept mixed-effectsmodels suggest significant effect of the two intervention arms on increased return from market activities and greater assets owned by the women. Results also show an increase in expenditure on children, although not at the same rate as the increases in womens’ income and profits. Findings provide strong support for the expansion of the graduation approach to help the ultra-poor in different settings. Findings also point to the importance of taking into account existing social relationships within households and suggest the added value of addressing these intra-household dynamics through appropriate programme strategies.