Families in Multi-Problem Situations in India: Exploration From the Fifth Round of the National Family Health Survey

Abstract

Family is the cornerstone of many concepts in the social sciences, especially in demography and sociology. It is generally regarded as a major social institution and is positioned as the locus of much of an individual’s life-course decisions. This study’s aim was to investigate families in multi-problem situations and their determinants in India. National Family Health Survey round fifth was used. A total of 19,763 samples of families were analyzed using univariate, bivariate, and chi-square tests and multinomial logistic regression. More than half of Indian families are facing multiple problems. In India, 23.2% of families suffer from three and more problems. Those families with one problem have more domestic violence (25.6%) among women. The use of tobacco (36.4%) and alcohol (35.7%) among men is more in families having two problems. Families facing three problems have more women consuming tobacco (31.8%), more men consuming alcohol (31.4%), and more underweight and alcohol-consuming women (30.2% and 30.9%) in the family. The multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that more than two problems were associated with the men’s age groups, wealth index, status of shared toilet facilities, educational level of men and women, and caste. Findings suggest the importance of addressing multiple problems in Indian families. Inclusion of education, sanitation, violence, use of alcohol and tobacco, malnutrition among women, and children management strategies services needs to be taken into consideration by the program and policymakers.