ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to find out what influence does the SES of parents has on children’s well-being. The design of the study was survey method, it was carried out in Ekpoma quarter, Edo State. Children below 5 years were included. The SES variables of parents were obtained via structured questionnaires. Sample size 108, selected through multistage sampling, children’s weight and height were examined. Data analysed using T-test, T-ratio and Friedman test. It was discovered that there was significant relationship between SES of parents and children well-being. There was significant difference between high and low SES of parent and children well-being. It was also discovered that there was a significant difference in the difficulties faced by high and low SES of parents and children well-being. Majority of children examined were strong and healthy. The major constraint the parents faced in raising children in the study area, were inadequate income, high cost of living and lack of employment. The study recommend that the government should provide more job opportunity to enable mothers live a healthy lives with their children. Conclusively, the study shows that the type of occupation of parents affects the level of income which gives the parent the purchase power for more nutritional products and health care services.
CHAPTER ONE
IntroductionBackground of the Study
Socioeconomic status (SES) deals with the economic and sociological combined total measures of person work experience or family economic and social position in relation to other based on income, education, and occupation. SES is broken down into three classes; high class, middle class and low class. These categories can be assessed using parents variables such as income, education and occupation.
Well-being is used to refer to the quality of people’s lives, and covers both subjective and objective aspects. Subjective well-being focuses on how people are feeling, whereas objective well-being focuses on the conditions which affect those feelings such as health or education. Children are vulnerable to diseases such as stunting, wasting and mental health if they are not well taking care of. Thus parents have lots of roles to play in the well-being of their children if they are to become active participants of the societal development. This study focused on the socioeconomic status of parents as its affect the well-being of the children below 5 years in the study area. The study also restricted its focus to the health status of children as measure of their well-being due to the age range of the children in the study.
Parent socioeconomic status may impact both parents own health and the well-being of their children. Educational attainment in particular had a stronger correlation with good health than income or other measuresof SES (Grossman, 2007). The association between education and parents’ own health is only partially explained by better health knowledge and may be better explained by the fact that more highly educated parents tend to exhibit better health behaviour. Grossman model yield several insights into how parents’ socioeconomic status might affect child health. First, and perhaps most obviously is budget constraints bind more in poorer families preventing them from buying more or better material health inputs such as better quality medical care and food, as well as safer housing and neighborhoods. Second, SES affects what parents choose to do with the health inputs they can afford as parents of lower SES may have different past experiences with health care system, or different health preferences. European studies have shown that low socioeconomic status, low education and low income are associated with poor health among children below 5 years. For example, poor self assessed health, mortality, prevalence of long term diseases and the experience of psychosomatic symptoms, the general well-being and living conditions of children below 5 years which had minimized health inequalities between population as a result of implementation of health policy in Nigeria.
A relationship between parents socioeconomic factors and well-being has also been demonstrated, for instance, parent’s low education, unemployment, health status and an increased prevalence of chronic diseases. In addition, the presence of multiple parent socioeconomic risk factors may have a cumulative effect on children’s well-being. The association of low socioeconomic background and poor health is not simple, many environmental and social factors, such as poor nutrition and poor access to health care, have been found to be associated with low socioeconomic background low income and education, and thus with poor health and development of children (Alaimo, Olson, Frongillo, 2001). Age dependency in health inequalities have also been a point of interest for several researcher (Chen, Martin & Matthew, 2006). On the basis of equalization theory it has been hypothesized that health inequalities are more evident in childhood, and diminish in adolescence (West & Sweeting, 2004). Clarifying the association of parentsocioeconomic background and children’shealth is important since it has been shown that health inequalities in childhood predict poor health in adulthood (Kestilä, et al. 2005).
Finally, children of lower SES families are likely to have lower health status at birth. This is not necessarily due to a worse genetic endowment but may stem from differing environmental triggers that activate certain genes (Putter, 2006). Thus a lower SES child may have poor health at birth because of the circumstances surrounding gestation and birth rather than because of worse genetic endowments.
The demand for health care services by parents for the well-being of their children below 5 years in Ekpoma are on the increase on daily basis, parents are now conscious of giving children adequate medical care and complete doses of immunization to prevent defective causing diseases.The well-being of children in recent years has also improved in Ekpoma. This development could be traced to the improvement of socioeconomic status of parents. Thus, this study was to examine the effect of socioeconomic status of parents on the well-being of children below 5 years in Ekpoma.
Children from low socioeconomic status families are more likely to experience growth retardation and inadequate neurobehavioral development in-utero (Dipoetro et al, 1999). Early child health problems often emanate from poor prenatal care, maternal substance abuse, poor nutrition during pregnancy, maternal lifestyles that increase the likelihood of infections.
Objectives of the study
i. To examine the socioeconomic status of parents who are nursing children below 5 years.
ii. To determine the well-being of children below 5 years.
iii. To examine the relationship between parent socioeconomic status and the well-being of children below 5 year.
iv. To determine the socioeconomic variables of parents that influenced the well-being of children.
v. To examine the difficulties faced by parents in raising children below 5 years.
Significance of the Study
i. It helps the researcher to identify the contributing variables of parent’s SES that affects the child’s well-being.
ii. It enables researchers who are interested in further study on child’s well-being get information.
iii. It guides policy maker to formulate proper policies on health well-being of children.
Research Questions
i. What is the socioeconomic status of parents?
ii. What is the state of well-being of children below 5years?
iii. What is the relationship between parent’s socioeconomic status and the well-being of children below 5 years?
iv. Which of the socioeconomic variables of parent influences the well-being of children?
v. What are the problems confronting parents in raising up their children?
Hypothesis of the Study
i. Socioeconomic status of parents has no significant influence on children well-being.
ii. There is no significant difference in the well-being of children of high and low socioeconomic status parents.
iii. There is no significant difference in the difficulties faced by parents of high and low SES in raising up their children.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study was limited to mothers who were seeking for child health care below five (5) yearsin medical health clinics in Ekpoma, Edo state. The study was limited due to inadequate library materials, resources and time.
Definition of Terms
Family: Is a unit comprising of husband, wife and children.
Family size:The number of people in the family.
Family system: This includes monogamy and may be nuclear or extended family.
Household size: This is the number of persons living together in a particular house under a family head.
Dyad: This is a Greek word meaning both or two
Educational status: This term is used for social processes in which one achieve social competence and individual growth, carried out in a selected, controlled setting which can be institutionalized as a school or college.
Occupational status: Person’s trade, vocation or principal means of earning living.
Socio-economic status (SES)this refers to position of recognition which one finds himself in the society. Such a position may not be hereditary but acquired through personal efforts like education, wealth, occupation and social class.
Effects: the result or outcome of anything be it positive or negative.
Home situation: This refers to prevailing atmosphere in the home whether violent, resentful or in disarray.
Parental attitude: Parents disposition to respond in a particular way to some stimulus in their social environment. Some responses determine the way and manner their children are brought up by them.================================================================
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