http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6273-8807
Introduction
Globally, family structure is undergoing fundamental transformations. These changes have been accompanied by a lot of alterations in the social structure and values of society. These changes and the alterations induced have become the subject of intense concern around the world. The extent of the changes and the value of the alterations in the form and meaning of family life are being debated widely. The different changes that challenge traditional meanings of family have engendered this debate.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, while these changes have been noted to be taking place and manifesting in different forms, understanding the context and consequences of these changes, and social responses to them and how they shape the vision of the family, depends on understanding the larger debate about family. The study of family household is not given adequate attention in Sub-Saharan Africa and thus the methodological tools important and useful to understanding African family dynamics are underdeveloped.
A new network of researchers in family demography was constituted to promote family research agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa. The network seeks to identify and examine emerging patterns of family and household and associated consequences in the region. The key research questions being addressed by this network include: (i) How is family defined and understood in Sub-Saharan Africa? (ii) How is family formed and dissolved? (iii) What are the emerging patterns of family formation and types in Sub-Saharan Africa? (iv) What are the socio-cultural determinants of family transition in Sub-Saharan Africa (v) What are the consequences of changing patterns of family and household in Sub-Saharan Africa? (vi) What are the nature and impacts of family composition, relationships and dynamics on individual outcomes, health and well-being and how do these relationships and their effects change over time? (vii) What are the broader policy implications of the changing context and consequences of the family in Africa?
This special issue is a collection of papers presented at the International Conference on Family Demography in African and Post-2015 Development Agenda, held at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, between 27 and 29 June 2016. The issue looks at the situation and the role of the family in the post-2015 development agenda. The post-2015 development agenda is encapsulated in what is globally known as the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDG). The SDG are a set of 17 goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. The achievement of the goals is envisaged to be facilitated by individuals in private and public sectors (UN, Citation2015; Tiemoko, Citation2016).
African families exist in a globalising world where many social, economic, racial and religious dynamics affect the institution of the family. Wallace (Citation1998) noted that, due to globalisation and technological and organisational changes, families are shattered and society is divided into winners and losers. It is within this context that this special issue is situated.
Although family research in Africa has been implemented in disciplines such as sociology and psychology, there has been dearth of studies in family demography. Family demography is the branch of demography concerned with the study and analysis of families and households: their formation, changes over time and their dissolution and consequences (Weeks, Citation2005). The highlights of the contributed papers are summarised as follows.
This issue is a preliminary bird's-eye view of our work on family demography in Africa. Clearly different patterns and impacts are emerging. This issue has presented a short description of the changes and consequences characterise Sub-Saharan African families. There is no doubt that further questions remain to be answered in subsequent qualitative studies. The gaps include understanding specific family groups (like families of refugees, urban and rural families) and issues of intergenerational resources transfers and how they impact on demographic outcomes. Family violence is also an unresearched research area, as are issues of marriage, divorce, remarriage, fertility and socialisation, fertility preferences and actual family size, impact of technologies on family dynamics, etc.
Although demographic research is crucial to understanding changing family forms and dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa, this has to be implemented in collaboration with other disciplines in a multidisciplinary context. Such an approach grounded in a strong theoretical model will provide a more complete picture of family structures, processes and relationships in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Acknowledgements
The support of the DST/NRF Center of Excellence in Human Development towards this publication is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the authors and should not necessarily be attributed to the Center of Excellence in Human Development.
Additional information
Funding
References
- Wallace, M, 1998. Downsizing the American dream: Work and family at century’s end. In Vannoy, D & Dubeck, PJ (Eds.), Challenges for work and family in the 21st century, 23–28. Aldine de Gruyter, New York.
- Weeks, John R, 2005. Population: An introduction to concepts and issues 9th Edition. Wadsworth, Belmont, California, USA.
- UN. 2015. Sustainable development goals. New York.
- Tiemoko, Richmond, 2016. Opening speech at the international conference on family demography and Post-2015 Development Agenda, held at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, June 27–29, 2016.