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Decadal Analysis of Level and Correlates of Child Fostering in Nigeria: Insights from Demographic and Health Survey, 2008-2018.

Oluwatobi Alawode, Department of Sociology, University of Florida
Abayomi Awoleye, Obafemi Awolowo University

Nigeria’s population has about 44% young people, with harsh economic situation serving as a breeding ground for different child living arrangements including child fostering; a practice where children reside in non-parental households. Cultural and extended family beliefs and bonds has made it a norm. In Nigeria in recent years, there is paucity of evidence in literature on the level and correlates of child fostering and no known study has utilized a nationally representative data to study child fostering. Using data from the last three installments of the Nigerian Demographic & Health Survey 2008 (n=21,012), 2013 (n=10,364) & 2018 (n=26,913), we investigated the level and correlates of child fostering and compare the results across years to see if there have been changes in the level and correlates at the three data points. In the analysis, bar charts were employed to present the level and binary logit regression models were fitted. Preliminary findings revealed that the level of child fostering in the last decade in Nigeria has hovered around 5-6%. Across survey years, the statistically significant correlates of child fostering identified sits among the household, mother, and child level factors, and this offers great insights for child welfare programs.

Keywords: Children and youth, Family demography, Demographic and social surveys, Comparative methods

See paper.

  Presented in Session 162. Child Care Arrangements: Patterns, Trends and Effects