Abstract
Anthropological theories of reciprocity suggest it enhances prestige, social solidarity, and material security. Yet, some ethnographic cases suggest that water sharing—a form of reciprocity newly gaining scholarly attention—might work in the opposite way, increasing conflict and emotional distress. Using cross-cultural survey data from twenty global sites (n = 4,267), we test how household water reciprocity (giving and receiving) is associated with negative emotional and social outcomes. Participation in water sharing as both givers and receivers is consistently associated with greater odds of reporting shame, upset, and conflict over water. Water sharing experiences in a large, diverse sample confirm a lack of alignment with predictions of classic reciprocity theories. Recent ethnographic research on reciprocity in contexts of deepening contemporary poverty will allow development of ethnographically informed theories to better explain negative experiences tied to water reciprocity.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 279-290 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | American Anthropologist |
| Volume | 124 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2022 |
Funding
This project was funded by a US National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Research Coordination Network (HWISE RCN) (Award BCS-1759972) and Competitive Research Grants to Develop Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA, which is cofunded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), grant number 300654 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation INV-002962 / OPP1211308). Work on the project was also supported by US NSF Cultural Anthropology (SBE-2017491); US NSF Growing Convergence Research (GCR-2021147); US NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center (EEC-1449500); US National Institutes of Health (Grants: NIEHS/FIC R01ES019841; NIH/NIAID K23 AI129854; NICHD 1R01HD081929\u201301; HL093093 award to Stephen T. McGarvey); Lloyd's Register Foundation (Grant #0068); World Bank, 3ie, and CIFF (PI: Matthew Freeman); Arizona State University Center for Global Health & Global Ethnohydrology Study; Northwestern University's Buffett Institute for Global Studies, Center for Water Research, the Resnick Family Social Impact Fund, and Institute for Sustainability and Energy; the Office of the Vice Provost for Research of the University of Miami; Shahid Behesti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; The Michigan State University Water Cubed Funding; Texas A&M University, and the University of Florida. AYR was supported by the Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professorship funds, and Penn State\u2019s Population Research Institute (NICHD P2CHD041025). We thank our colleagues Raymond A. Tutu and Gershim Asiki for their involvement with this project. This project was funded by a US National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Research Coordination Network (HWISE RCN) (Award BCS\u20101759972) and Competitive Research Grants to Develop Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA, which is cofunded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), grant number 300654 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation INV\u2010002962 / OPP1211308). Work on the project was also supported by US NSF Cultural Anthropology (SBE\u20102017491); US NSF Growing Convergence Research (GCR\u20102021147); US NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center (EEC\u20101449500); US National Institutes of Health (Grants: NIEHS/FIC R01ES019841; NIH/NIAID K23 AI129854; NICHD 1R01HD081929\u201301; HL093093 award to Stephen T. McGarvey); Lloyd's Register Foundation (Grant #0068); World Bank, 3ie, and CIFF (PI: Matthew Freeman); Arizona State University Center for Global Health & Global Ethnohydrology Study; Northwestern University's Buffett Institute for Global Studies, Center for Water Research, the Resnick Family Social Impact Fund, and Institute for Sustainability and Energy; the Office of the Vice Provost for Research of the University of Miami; Shahid Behesti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; The Michigan State University Water Cubed Funding; Texas A&M University, and the University of Florida. AYR was supported by the Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professorship funds, and Penn State\u2019s Population Research Institute (NICHD P2CHD041025). We thank our colleagues Raymond A. Tutu and Gershim Asiki for their involvement with this project.
Keywords
- mental health
- reciprocity
- water borrowing
- water insecurity
- water loaning
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anthropology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)