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Exploring the Relationship Between Disability and Children’s Household Chores in Selected Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Emma Samman

    (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Programme, ODI Global, London SE1 8NJ, UK)

  • Lauren Pandolfelli

    (Data and Analytics Section, Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring, UNICEF, New York, NY 10017, USA)

  • Claudia Cappa

    (Data and Analytics Section, Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring, UNICEF, New York, NY 10017, USA)

Abstract

Studies on disability and unpaid domestic and care work (UDCW) in low- and middle-income countries are rare. This paper contributes to a nascent body of literature by exploring how children’s unpaid workloads at home are affected by the disability status of their primary caregiver and of younger children within the household in 34 low- and middle-income countries and areas. We constructed ordinary least-squares regression models for the pooled data using country-fixed effects and for each country and area separately. Random effects models are included as a test of robustness. Our analysis of the pooled data revealed that when a household included a child aged 2–4 with a disability, the time dedicated to UDCW by children aged 5–17 rose by approximately 10 percent, on average. While we did not find an association between the disability status of the caregiver and the time children dedicated to UDCW in the pooled regressions, in the country-specific regressions, having a caregiver with a disability was associated with changes in the time spent on UDCW in certain countries, signaling the heterogeneity of country experience. As such, there is reason to devote additional attention to understanding the implications of disability on the amount of time children spend on UDCW and to consider what types of support might be needed in households with diverse disability profiles.

Suggested Citation

  • Emma Samman & Lauren Pandolfelli & Claudia Cappa, 2025. "Exploring the Relationship Between Disability and Children’s Household Chores in Selected Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Disabilities, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-16, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jdisab:v:5:y:2025:i:1:p:17-:d:1583604
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kaminska Olena & Lynn Peter, 2017. "Survey-Based Cross-Country Comparisons Where Countries Vary in Sample Design: Issues and Solutions," Journal of Official Statistics, Sciendo, vol. 33(1), pages 123-136, March.
    2. Verónica Amarante & Gerardo Escaroz & Carlos Galian & Monica Rubio, 2024. "Children Do Care: Novel Findings from Colombia and Mexico," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(6), pages 2599-2628, December.
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