ERIC Number: EJ890052
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Mar
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-1465
EISSN: N/A
Mothers' Community Participation and Child Health
Nobles, Jenna; Frankenberg, Elizabeth
Journal of Health and Social Behavior, v50 n1 p16-30 Mar 2009
We use rich data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey to assess the relationship between mothers' access to social capital via participation in community activities and their children's health. We exploit the advantages of longitudinal data and community fixed effects to mitigate some of the concerns about spuriousness and reverse causality that predominate in this literature. We find that children from families with relatively low levels of human and financial capital fare better with respect to health status when their mothers are more active participants in community organizations. In fact, the association between maternal participation and child health is strong and positive only for children from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds, as measured by their mothers' educational and household economic resources. The results suggest that in poorer settings community involvement may benefit disadvantaged families, possibly by providing resources and information that would otherwise be inaccessible. (Contains 4 tables and 4 notes.)
Descriptors: Mothers, Community Involvement, Child Health, Foreign Countries, Parent Participation, Longitudinal Studies, Correlation, Economically Disadvantaged, Educational Attainment, Family Income, Poverty, Social Capital, Community Programs, Body Height, Body Weight, Family Structure, Parent Influence, Family Relationship, Age Differences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indonesia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A