Mary Winter

A Theory of Family Housing Adjustment

The paper presents a conceptual and theoretical framework for the study of the housing adjustment behavior of families. Families are viewed as evaluating their housing in terms of cultural norms and family norms. When their housing does not meet the norms, it tends to give rise to dissatisfaction, producing a propensity to reduce the normative deficit. Residential mobility, residential adaptation, and family adaptation are the modes of adjustment used to reduce such deficits, and are undertaken when the constraints on the behavior can be overcome.

Housing Conditions, Satisfaction, and Conventionality: An Analysis of the Housing of Female-Headed Households

The analysis in this paper tests the differences between female-headed households and jointly headed households on conditions, preferences and norms for single-family home owner ship. Data are from a sample of 1186 households drawn from small cities in north-central Iowa. Female-headed households were more likely to live in a dwelling that was neither owner-occupied nor a single-family dwelling than were jointly headed households. Preferences for ownership and structure type differed between the two household types, but reported norms for tenure and structure type were similar. Although female-headed households were less likely to own single-family dwellings than jointly headed households, their housing conditions did not reduce their housing satisfaction. Female-headed households evidently have avoided dissatisfaction by developing unconventional housing preferences.

Level of Living and Participation in the Informal Market Sector among Rural Honduran Women

The purpose of this study is to examine factors that affect Honduran womens market sector participation and its impact on the familys level of living. The data were collected in Moroceli, Honduras, in 1981. The analysis, which includes correlations and regression methods, reveals that the Honduran woman in the informal sector is likely to have no formal education and to be part of afemale-headed household, relatively old, single, part of a free conjugal union arrangement, part of an extended family, and caring for a relatively greater number of young children. The participant in the formal sector is likely to be younger, also a member of an extended family, and married. She will have fewer young children in total but more of them will be toddlers. The womansparticipation in either sector raises the level of living for the household.

The health status of women in Oaxaca: Determinants and consequences

Survey data from a sample of 575 women from the city of Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico, are analyzed to ascertain the effect of the receipt of job-related benefits, including health benefits, on the self-reported health status of women, their rating of the health of the members of their household, and their satisfaction with the health of the members of their household. Health status depends on the womans age, her socioeconomic status, and the number of children she has borne. Her rating of the health of the members of her household is related to her age, her socioeconomic status, and her rating of her own health. Satisfaction with the physical health of the members of the household is a function her health, her rating of the health of her household, her age, her socioeconomic status and the number of children she has borne. The overall conclusion is that, in this study, it is socioeconomic and demographic factors that are important in determining the womans health status, rather than the receipt of job-related benefits. That she reports good health is an important factor in her view of her familys health and her satisfaction with her own health and that of her family.

Adjustment, Adaptation, Regeneration, and the Impact of Disasters on Housing and Households: A Prologue to Research

AbstractThis work is based, in part, on preliminary research in Mexico City after the earthquakes of September, 1985. It presents an outline of the housing adjustment model of routine household housing behavior; an outline of the ABCX family crisis model; and adapts the two approaches for use in the analysis of disaster effects on households and their housing.

Reporting Error and Single-Family Home Ownership Norms and Preferences

AbstractThe purpose of this research is to test hypotheses about the differences among income classes in home-ownership preferences and reported norms. The first hypothesis is that households with differing levels of income have differing standards and aspirations for home ownership and the single-family dwelling. The alternative hypothesis is that the apparent differences among income classes in housing preferences and norms are due to a correctable systematic reporting error. The data are from interviews with about 1300 households in a six-county area in northwest Iowa during 1975–76. The data were analyzed using a four-step regression procedure. The results indicate that housing needs and preferences for tenure and structure type do not differ by income when “corrected.” Actual housing and the constraints differ by income and it is their effects on the reporting of norms and preferences that produce systematic measurement error.

Household Adaptations to Government Housing Designs in Oaxaca, Mexico

AbstractThe effectiveness of government public housing in providing usable living space for low-middle income households in Oaxaca, Mexico, is assessed in this study through analyses of survey data, ethnographic interviews, and observations conducted in 1987 and 1992 at three different government-sponsored housing developments. The use of household space, and the modifications made by residents of the housing units to achieve a satisfactory allocation of space for different domestic activities and functions, are presented.

Removing Housing Deficits in the Transition from Rental to Ownership

AbstractA dynamic model of housing adjustment is used to analyze data from rural and small-town households in the north-central region of the U.S. The method interfaces a deterministic model with data collected from renter households who are evolving to firsttime home ownership. The model shows that most new home owners remove space and dwelling deficits in their transitions from renter to owner. These results also indicate that the concepts of housing adjustment theory are viable in dynamic analysis. There is a minority of renters who do not become owners. Presumably the need has not arisen or constraints have prevented transition to home ownership.

Housing Cost Burden Among Female Heads of Housing

AbstractHouseholds that spend 30% or more of household income on housing expenses are said to be experiencing housing affordability problems or housing cost burdens. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the housing cost burdens of five different subgroups of female-headed households: single mothers; elderly women living alone; nonelderly women living alone; elderly women living with others; and nonelderly women living with others. Group comparisons and regression analyses using data from the 1984 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation were used to identify the role of background and housing characteristics and the role of government assistance in explaining housing cost burden. Although the findings of the analyses indicate that housing cost burden varies based on age, living arrangement, and the presence of children, single mothers experienced the highest cost burdens. Education level, household size, tenure, year the structure was build, mobile home residence, and government...

A Research Note on: The Use of Event-History Data in Mobility Studies

AbstractThis paper examines residential mobility rates over the lifetime of households. The sample includes 404 households from the Omaha-Council Bluffs SMSA and from four, small, nonmetropolitan communities in Nebraska and Iowa.The household history, beginning at the date of household formation, is divided into five-year segments. The mobility rate at each marriage cohort is analyzed for its relationship to previous and subsequent cohorts and number of previous moves. The results show that the older the household, the lower the mobility rate. Higher mobility rates are found within the early years of marriage. Mobility for each grouping of marriage cohorts does not change appreciably even if the number of previous moves increases. During any given period of time, where the mobility rate of young households is relatively low, the mobility rate of more established households is relatively high, and vice versa, resulting in a stable rate of mobility over forty years.