Population Council Research that makes a difference

Studies in Family Planning

September 2013, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Full article access available to subscribers)

Articles

• Perceived Decline in Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Bangladesh: Qualitative Evidence / Sidney Ruth Schuler, Rachel Lenzi, Sohela Nazneen, and Lisa M. Bates
  Article available free of charge through October 7
  
  The Bangladesh government, nongovernmental organizations, donors, and advocacy groups have attempted various interventions to promote gender equality and reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) against women, but rigorous evaluations of these interventions are rare and few published studies have yet to show that any of them has had a substantial impact. This study presents qualitative evidence from four villages in central and northern Bangladesh drawn from 11 group discussions (6 with men, 5 with women), 16 open-ended interviews with men, and 62 women’s life history narratives. The findings strongly suggest that IPV is declining in these villages as women's economic roles expand and they gain a stronger sense of their rights. Periodic surveys are recommended to measure trends in the incidence of IPV in settings where transitions in gender systems are under way. (Studies in Family Planning 2013; 44[3]: 243–257)
  
  
• Religious Denomination, Religious Involvement, and Modern Contraceptive Use in Southern Mozambique / Victor Agadjanian
  
  The relationship between contraceptive use and religion remains a subject of considerable debate. This article argues that this relationship is rooted in context-specific institutional and organizational aspects of religious belonging and involvement. Drawing upon unique recent data from a population-based survey of women conducted in a predominantly Christian high-fertility area of Mozambique, this study examines the connections between religion and contraception from two complementary angles. First, differences in current use of modern contraceptives across main denominational groups are analyzed. The results show higher prevalence of modern contraceptive use among Catholics and, to a lesser extent, traditional Protestants net of other individual- and community-level factors. Second, an analysis of religious involvement reveals that frequent church attendance has a net positive association with modern contraceptive use regardless of denominational affiliation. These findings are situated within the historical context of religious, demographic, and socio-political dynamics of Mozambique and similar sub-Saharan settings. (Studies in Family Planning 2013; 44[3]: 259–274)
  
  
• Effects of the Number and Age of Siblings on Educational Transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa / Øystein Kravdal, Ivy Kodzi, and Wendy Sigle-Rushton
  
  

  Studies examining the link between number of siblings and level of education attained by children in Africa have produced mixed results. This study draws on Demographic and Health Survey data from 26 sub-Saharan African countries and employs a multilevel multiprocess model that controls for time-invariant unobserved mother-level characteristics. We find indications that having younger siblings increases the likelihood of entering primary school; however, once a child is enrolled, having pre-school aged siblings is negatively associated with educational progression. Having a greater number of siblings older than age 15 increases the likelihood of primary-school entry and completion but has no effect on subsequent educational transitions. Some positive effects of having a greater number of siblings who are aged 6–15 are also observed. Girls are more adversely affected by having young siblings than are boys, but they benefit more than do boys from having siblings who are older than age 15. On the whole, the effects are not very strong, however. (Studies in Family Planning 2013; 44[3]: 275–297)

• Levels, Trends, and Determinants of Unintended Pregnancy in Iran: The Role of Contraceptive Failures / Amir Erfani
  
  The rate of contraceptive use in Iran is high, but because abortion is illegal, many unintended pregnancies among married women are likely to be terminated by clandestine and often unsafe procedures, resulting in adverse health outcomes. Drawing upon data from the 2009 Tehran Survey of Fertility, this study estimates the levels and trends of unintended pregnancy and examines determinants of pregnancy intentions for the most recent birth, using multinomial logistic regression analysis. The level of unintended pregnancy decreased from 32 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2009, while contraceptive use increased. Unintended pregnancies in the five years preceding the 2009 survey resulted from failures of withdrawal (48 percent) and of modern contraceptive use (20 percent), together with contraceptive discontinuation (26 percent) and nonuse (6 percent). Multivariate findings show that, compared with women experiencing withdrawal failures, the risk of unintended pregnancy was higher among women reporting modern contraceptive failure and lower among those reporting contraceptive discontinuation and nonuse. The high risk of unwanted pregnancy among women experiencing failures in practicing withdrawal or using modern contraceptive methods points to an unmet need for family planning counseling and education rather than to a shortage of contraceptive methods. (Studies in Family Planning 2013; 44[3]: 299–317)
  
  
• Improving Data Concerning Women’s Empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa / Jessica Heckert and Madeleine Short Fabic
  
  This study assesses the utility of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) questions regarding women's empowerment in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. We examine the use of, and need for improvements to, women's empowerment data in Ghana, Mozambique, Senegal, and Uganda. Drawing on interviews conducted among gender and health experts and on context-specific literature, our findings reveal that although DHS data are widely used, data needs remain in five areas: economic empowerment, knowledge of legal rights and recourse, participation in decisionmaking, attitudes and social norms, and adolescent girls. We recommend that Demographic and Health Surveys be modified—for example, through adding specific survey items—to fulfill some but not all of these emerging women’s empowerment data needs. We also suggest that other surveys fill known gaps and that data users carefully consider the meaning and relative weight of the women's empowerment items according to the cultural context in which the data are collected. (Studies in Family Planning 2013; 44[3]: 319–344)
  
  

Data (Studies in Family Planning 2013; 44[3]: 345–364)

• Bangladesh 2011: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey
• Uganda 2011: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey

Book Reviews (Studies in Family Planning 2013; 44[3]: 365–368)

• Promoting Abstinence, Being Faithful, and Condom Use with Young Africans / Mary Louisa Plummer
  Reviewed by Andrew Gibbs
• Maternal and Perinatal Health in Developing Countries / Julia Hussein, Affette McCaw-Binns, and Roger Webber (eds.)
  Reviewed by Mary Ellen Stanton

 

To read abstracts or search contents of previous volumes, visit Wiley Online Library (volumes 30–43, 1999–2012) or JSTOR (volumes 1–40, 1963–2009).

Studies in Family Planning

Cumulative Index
Volumes 22–42, 1991–2011

A cumulative index to SFP is available in a PDF file. The PDF file includes a list of contents by author and subject.

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To search contents of previous volumes, visit Wiley Online Library (volumes 30–42, 1999–2011) or JSTOR (volumes 1–41, 1963–2010).

 

Studies in Family Planning

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Studies in Family Planning

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Studies in Family Planning
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