Child and family outcomes in New York and tel AVIV: Using social indicators in a city level comparative analysis

Asher Ben-Arieh*, John Gal, Lenna Nepomnyaschy, Irwin Garfinkel

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article presents a comparative study in which social indicators were employed as a means to examine differences in living conditions and family and children outcomes on a local level. The study obtained household-level data on the well-being of children and families in two cities: New York (NYC) and Tel Aviv (TLV). Data were collected using computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) technology and random digit dialing (RDD). Telephone interviews were conducted with the randomly selected adults in English, Spanish and Chinese in NYC and in Hebrew in TLV. The study reported here documented differences in family and child well-being between the two cities. It further documented that family size and caregiver level of education play a similar role in both cities and their importance in regard to child and family outcomes. The significant differences found in adults' and especially children's outcomes were analyzed by the caregiver's level of education and further support the need for policies that alleviate the burden of less educated caregivers and aim to improve the well-being of them and their families. The study demonstrates the relevance of social indicators at the local level, not only for measuring outcomes among specific populations, but also in regard to their possible implications for social policies, a most timely task in an era of social services devolution.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)223-248
Number of pages26
JournalSocial Indicators Research
Volume80
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2007

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The German Aging Survey was carried out at the Centre for Psychogerontology at the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands (Director: Prof. Dr. F. Dittmann-Kohli), and the Research Group on Aging and the Life Course at the Free University of Berlin, Germany (Director: Prof. Dr. M. Kohli). It was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth. Data collection was accomplished by Infas-Sozialfors-chung, Bonn, Germany.

Keywords

  • Child outcomes
  • Childand family well being
  • Family outcomes
  • Social indicators
  • Social services

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