Poverty as a Determinant of Marital Status in the Douala Metropolis of Cameroon

This paper examines how poverty determines people’s marital status and their participation in the desired leading values of the metropolitan city of Douala. We used the quota sampling method in which the number of respondents selected from each division was determined by its population size, and then we divided the various divisions into clusters (neighbourhoods). We employed a systematic sampling method in the clusters in which we started with an nth subject and then selected every twentieth unit after the first. We sampled everyone: the married, divorcees, single and cohabiting people in order to understand how poverty determines their different marital statuses. We discovered that the more prestigious jobs people do, the more they earn and the higher the probability that they are married and either rent or own more expensive homes. Equally, the more people become jobless and have precarious jobs, the higher the rate of divorce, single, separated and cohabitating persons and the higher the probability that they are either dependent or homeless. However, marriage constrains people’s participation in the main values of their society, that is why married people diversify less their meals and leisure activities as compared to separated and engaged persons.

Anyanwu, J. C. (2014). Marital status, household size and poverty in Nigeria: Evidence from the 2009/2010 survey data. African Development Review, 26(1), 118-137.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publication Ltd.

Holborn, M., & Haralambos, M. (1991). Sociology: Themes and perspectives. Hammersmith, London: Harper Collins Publisher.

Institut National de la Statistique (National Institute of Statistics). (2015). Présentation des premiers résultats de la quatrième enquête camerounaise auprès des ménages (ECAM 4) de 2014. Retrieved from http://slmp-550-104.slc.westdc.net/~stat54/nada/index.php/catalog/114

International Monetary Fund. (2018). IMF country report number 18/235 Cameroon. Washington, D. C.: International Monetary Fund.

Kumase, W. N. (2018). Aspects of poverty and inequality in Cameroon. Bern: Peter Lang International Academic Publishers.

Nanche, B. R. (2014). Gender difference and poverty in the city of Douala. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 15(2), 227-240.

Nanche, B. R. (2016). Income inequality, poverty and economic reforms in Douala-Cameroon. In C. Schultz (Ed.), Poverty: Global perspectives, challenges and issues of the 21st century (pp. 101-139). New York: Nova Science Publisher Inc.

National Institute of Statistics. (2007). Trends, profile and determinants of poverty in Cameroon in 2007. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/surveyLib/index.php/catalog/2844/download/20405

National Institute of Statistics. (2017). Enquête Complémentaire à la quatrième Enquête Camerounaise Auprès des Ménages (2016). Retrieved from http://slmp-550-104.slc.westdc.net/~stat54/nada/index.php/catalog/108/study-description

Ningaye, P., Ndjanyou, L., & Saakou, G. M. (2011). Multidimensional poverty in Cameroon: Determinants and spatial distribution. Retrieved from https://aercafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/RP211.pdf

Smeeding, T., & Thévenot, C. (2016). Addressing child poverty: How does the United States compare with other nations? Academic Pediatrics, 16(3), 67-75.

Trading Economics. (2019). Cameroon inflation rate. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/Cameroon/inflation

Vespa, J., & Painter, M. A. (2011). Cohabitation history, marriage, and wealth accumulation. Demography, 48(3), 983-1004.

Wilmoth, J., & Koso, G. (2002). Does marital history matter? Marital status and wealth outcomes among preretirement adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(1), 254-268.