Assessment of Family Sizes and Poverty Levels in Mangu LGA, Plateau State
Amos Hyeladi, Johnson Alfred, Luka Dung Gyang

Abstract
The size of the family is a matter of great importance not only for the country as a whole but also for the welfare, health of the individual, the family and the community. Many efforts have been made to strike a balance between family size and standard of living at prevalent rate of the scourged of poverty level. This research examines the relationship between family size and poverty levels in Mangu LGA. The initial idea was to look at the extent of poverty among family sizes. Stratified sampling technique was used to select communities from the eleven districts in the LGA, while systematic sampling was applied to select families of married couples i.e interval of ten houses from which structured questionnaire were administered. Twenty (20) respondents of either male or female per head from each district, two hundred and eight (208) were retrieved for analysis. Simple descriptive data analysis were presented with respect to socio-demographic information, family size and determinant factors of poverty and both multivariate and ANOVA for the statistical test. The result witnessed a high educational attainment and monogamous marriage practice, total dependence of farming as source of income. An average of six (6) children per head, twice meal intake on a daily bases without protein content, few numbers of children in school, dilapidated structure of houses of most of respondents, and access to medical care were at shops (chemist). There is a high prevalence of poverty in Mangu LGA at 92% in terms of dollar rating of poverty. Statistical test revealed that income affect family size of six and above (6>) at 0.05 confidence level, with no effect on family size less than four (4<) while strong relationship established between family size and determinant of poverty levels at 0.05. Concise policies and programme were suggested to integrate into the communities to prevent multiplier effects on the society.

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