Empirical measurement of socio-economic status of farm families in Delta state, Nigeria

Abstract

Socio-economic status is poorly measured in most developing countries. The main objective of the paper was to establish an empirical procedure for socio-economic status measurement. Purposive, stratified and simple random sampling procedures were used. The sample size was made up of 510 respondents, which comprised Ibo (174), Urhobo (147), Ijaw (87), Isoko (60) and Itsekiri (42). A universe of 106 socio-economic status indicators was collated. The t-test and point-biserial correlation were used in the item analysis of quantitatively measured and dichotomous items respectively. Forty items were found valid across all the ethnic groups in the state. The 40 items were standardized into a socio-economic status scale for farm families in Delta State with the use of the Sigma scoring method. The scale had concurrent validity (t=59.82, P < 0.05) and construct validity (r= 0.702, p< 0.05). The scale is, therefore, recommended for agricultural extension workers, community development agents and other social workers especially in the evaluation of the impact of intervention programmes on farm families.

JARD Vol. 4 (2) 2005: pp. 200-217