This book is a comprehensive analysis of the structure, determinants and consequences of changes in sub-Saharan African families, thereby representing an Afrocentric description of the emerging trends. It documents various themes in the sub-disciplines of family demography. The first section of the book focuses on philosophical understanding of African family, its theoretical perspectives, and comparative analysis of family in the 20th and 21st centuries. The second section covers family formation, union dissolution, emerging trend in single parenthood, and adolescents in the family. The following section describes types, determinants and consequences of African family changes: health, childbearing, youth development, teen pregnancy and family violence and the last chapter provides systematic evidence on existing laws and policies governing African family structure and dynamics. As such it illustrates the importance of family demography in African demographic discourse and will be an interesting read to scholars and students in the field of demography, social workers, policy makers, departments of Social Development in countries in Africa and relevant international agencies and all those interested in understanding the African family trajectory.

This book is a comprehensive analysis of the structure, determinants and consequences of changes in sub-Saharan African families, thereby representing an Afrocentric description of the emerging trends. It documents various themes in the sub-disciplines of family demography. The first section of the book focuses on philosophical understanding of African family, its theoretical perspectives, and comparative analysis of family in the 20th and 21st centuries. The second section covers family formation, union dissolution, emerging trend in single parenthood, and adolescents in the family. The following section describes types, determinants and consequences of African family changes: health, childbearing, youth development, teen pregnancy and family violence and the last chapter provides systematic evidence on existing laws and policies governing African family structure and dynamics. As such it illustrates the importance of family demography in African demographic discourse and will be an interesting read to scholars and students in the field of demography, social workers, policy makers, departments of Social Development in countries in Africa and relevant international agencies and all those interested in understanding the African family trajectory.

This handbook provides an authoritative and comprehensive overview of African population dynamics, variations, causes and consequences, demonstrating the real-world applications of research in policies and programmes. African demography has come of age. Over 50 years, the discipline has grown exponentially in the number of training and research institutions, specialist experts and academic output, all with an aim of addressing the enormous demographic challenges faced by the continent. The book draws on old and emerging analytical tools to explore the relationships between population dynamics and social, economic, cultural and political environments from African perspectives. Key topics include fertility, sexual behaviours, healthcare, ageing, mortality, migration, displacement, the causes and consequences of demographic changes and teaching and research developments in African demography. The Routledge Handbook of African Demography will be an essential resource for students and researchers of African demography, sociology, development and cultural studies.

In this accessible and engagingly written book, Vanessa May invites readers into the rich world of thought, research and study of the highly diverse phenomenon of families and family life. The book explores what is and has been understood by ‘family’ in different sociocultural contexts and how family life intersects with social spheres such as the state, the labour market and the economy. Alongside broad social developments such as (post)colonialism and austerity and their connections with changing family patterns, the book engages interdisciplinary work on time, embodiment and materiality in order to offer a multidimensional perspective on the day-to-day lives of families. Drawing from research in the Global North and the Global South, the text carefully considers how people approach the study of families and thus offers insight into the shape of mainstream family studies today. The book offers a timely intervention into current debates within family studies and suggests avenues of investigation that deserve further attention, and will be an invaluable resource to students and scholars alike.

The Handbook examines contemporary trends and issues in the formation of families over the different stages of the life cycle and how they interact with family-oriented social policies of modern welfare states, mainly in the OECD countries of Western Europe, East Asia and the U.S. Focusing largely on family needs in the early stages of the life course, the conventional package of policies tends to emphasize programs and benefits clustered around measures to support marriage, childbearing, care, the reconciliation of employment and childcare during the preschool years. Drawing on a multidisciplinary group of experts from many countries, this book extends the conventional perspective on family policy by also looking at later phases of the family life course. In taking a life course perspective, this Handbook extends the purview to encompass the three main stages of family life. These are (1) cohabitation, marriage and starting a family; (2) the early years of parenting, care and employment, and (3) the period of transitions and later life: family breakdown and intergenerational supports across the life course.

Demographic Analysis - Selected Concepts, Tools, and Applications presents basic definitions, practical techniques, and methods, as well as examples of studies based on the usage of demographic analysis in various institutions and economic entities. The volume covers studies related to population distribution, urbanization, migration, population change and dynamics, aging, longevity, population theories, and population projections. It is an asset to academic and professional communities interested in advancing knowledge on diverse populations in various contexts such as public policies, public services, education, and labor markets. The book aims to help students of demography as well as practitioners of other fields of social sciences and people in government, business, and nonprofit organizations.

This book contends that Africa’s sustainable development must be built on African identity and values. Contributors reflect of the role of values in Africa’s effort to overcome poverty, the focus of SDG 1. The volume reflects on how indigenous values such as Ubuntu constitute a critical resource in addressing poverty. It reiterates the importance of positioning the response to poverty in Africa on the continent’s own, home grown values. Contributors also interrogate how values such as integrity, hard work, tolerance, solidarity, respect and others serve to position Africa strategically to overcome poverty. The volume focuses on how values can help Africa to overcome challenges such as corruption, violence, intolerance, competitive ethnicity, xenophobia, misplaced priorities and others. It provides fresh and critical reflections on the role of values and identity in anchoring Africa’s development in the light of SDG 1.