Anticipatory child fostering and household economic security in Malawi.

Background: While there is a rich literature on the practice of child fostering in sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about how fostering impacts receiving households, as few studies consider household conditions both before and after fostering. Despite the fact that circumstances surrounding fostering vary, the literature's key distinction of fostering is often drawn along the simple line of whether or not a household is fostering a child. This paper argues that anticipation of fostering responsibilities, in particular, is a useful dimension to distinguish fostering experiences for receiving households.

What can we learn from studies based on small sample sizes? Comment on Regan, Lakhanpal, and Anguiano (2012).

In a recent article, Regan, Lakhanpal, and Anguiano (2012) highlighted the lack of evidence for different relationship outcomes between arranged and love-based marriages. Yet the sample size (n = 58) used in the study is insufficient for making such inferences. This reply discusses and demonstrates how small sample sizes reduce the utility of this research.