Articles
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Ties of Dependence: AIDS and Transactional Sex in
Rural Malawi /
Ann Swidler and Susan Cotts Watkins
In sub-Saharan Africa, the exchange of sex for material support—labeled
“transactional sex” by Western observers—is claimed by some to be a
major driver of the AIDS pandemic. Transactional sex is described as
akin to prostitution, a degraded form of sexual expression forced on
vulnerable women by economic desperation. Using evidence from rural
Malawi, we demonstrate that patron–client ties and a moral obligation to
support the needy, which are fundamental to African social life, are
central elements of transactional sex. We argue that the exchange of sex
for money is better understood as one of the many ties of unequal
exchange in which Malawians and other Africans engage, an exchange in
which the patrons are as important as the clients. (Studies in Family
Planning 2007; 38[3]: 147–162) (offsite
link*)
- Modeling the Process Leading to Abortion:
An Application to French Survey Data / Clémentine Rossier, François
Michelot, Nathalie Bajos, and the COCON Group
In this study, we model women’s recourse to induced abortion as
resulting from a process that starts with sexual intercourse and
contraceptive use (or nonuse), continues with the occurrence of an
unintended pregnancy, and ends with the woman’s decision to terminate
the pregnancy and her access to abortion services. Our model includes
two often-neglected proximate determinants of abortion: sexual practices
and access to abortion services. We relate three sociodemographic
characteristics—women’s educational level, their relationship status,
and their age—step by step to the stages of the abortion process. We
apply our framework using data from the COCON survey, a national survey
on reproductive health conducted in France in 2000. Our model shows that
sociodemographic variables may have opposite impacts as the abortion
process unfolds. For example, women’s educational level can be
positively linked to the probability of practicing contraception but
negatively linked to the propensity to carry the unintended pregnancy to
term. This conceptual framework brings together knowledge that is
currently dispersed in the literature and helps to identify the source
of abortion-rate differentials. (Studies in Family Planning 2007; 38[3]:
163–172) (offsite
link*)
- The Influence of Parents’ Marital
Relationship and Women’s Status on Children’s Age at First Sex in Cebu,
Philippines / Ushma D. Upadhyay and Michelle J. Hindin
This study examines the intergenerational effects of parents’ marital
relationship and the status of women on children’s age at first sexual
intercourse in Cebu, Philippines. Matched longitudinal data for 1,661
mothers and their children are analyzed. The mothers were interviewed in
1994, when their children were aged 9 to 11, about sociodemographic
characteristics, their marital relationships, and women’s status. Cox
proportional hazards models are used to assess unmarried children’s age
at first sex as reported by the children in 2005 at ages 20 to 22. After
multivariate adjustment, the analysis indicates that when parents make
household decisions jointly, sons report delaying first sex. In
households in which mothers have higher status, daughters report delayed
first sex. The results demonstrate that long-term positive effects on
children, particularly delaying first sex, occur in families in which
parental decisionmaking is cooperative and in which women have high
status. (Studies in Family Planning 2007; 38[3]: 173–186) (offsite
link*)
Reports
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Underreporting of Induced and
Spontaneous Abortion in the United States: An Analysis of the 2002
National Survey of Family Growth / Rachel K. Jones and Kathryn Kost
Underreporting of induced abortions in surveys is widespread, both in
countries where the procedure is illegal or highly restricted and in
those where it is legal. In this study, we find that fewer than one half
of induced abortions performed in the United States in 1997–2001 (47
percent) were reported by women during face-to-face interviews in the
2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Hispanic and black women
and those with low income were among the least likely to report their
experience of abortion. Women were also less likely to report abortions
that occurred when they were in their 20s. Second-trimester abortions
were more likely to be reported than first-trimester terminations. The
levels of recent spontaneous abortion reported in the 2002 NSFG were
consistent with the accumulated body of clinical research, although
substantially more lifetime pregnancy losses were reported on
self-administered surveys than in face-to-face interviews. Subsequent
research should explore strategies to improve information collected on
abortion, and, in the interim, research involving pregnancy outcomes
should be adjusted for unreported induced abortions. (Studies in Family
Planning 2007; 38[3]: 187–197) (offsite
link*)
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The Impact of Pregnancy
Intention on Breastfeeding Duration in Bolivia and Paraguay / Carrie
K. Shapiro-Mendoza, Beatrice J. Selwyn, David P. Smith, and Maureen
Sanderson
Research has demonstrated that prolonged duration
of breastfeeding promotes child survival. This study examines the impact
of unintended—mistimed or unwanted—pregnancy on breastfeeding duration.
We use data from the 1990 Paraguay and 1994 Bolivia Demographic and
Health Surveys and restrict our analysis to last-born, surviving
children younger than 36 months from singleton births. To assess the
association, unintended and intended pregnancies are compared by
calculating incidence rates and adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) using
survival analysis. Most children (approximately 95 percent) were
breastfed initially, but the median duration of breastfeeding in Bolivia
was five months longer than that in Paraguay (19 versus 14 months). A
greater proportion of pregnancies were described as intended in Paraguay
than in Bolivia (74 percent versus 45 percent). In adjusted analyses,
unwanted and mistimed pregnancies were associated with slightly longer
duration of breastfeeding (aHR = 0.9) than were intended pregnancies,
but the association was not statistically significant. In this study,
therefore, pregnancy intention was not an important factor in duration
of breastfeeding in Bolivia or Paraguay. (Studies in Family Planning
2007; 38[3]: 198–205) (offsite
link*)
Data
- Guinea 2005: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey (offsite
link*)
- Senegal 2005: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey (offsite
link*)
Book Reviews (offsite
link*)
-
Sex Without Consent: Young People in Developing Countries /
Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Iqbal Shah, and Shyam Thapa, editors
Reviewed by Shelley Clark
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Preventing Unsafe Abortion and Its Consequences: Priorities for
Research and Action / Ina K. Warriner and Iqbal H. Shah, editors
Reviewed by Heidi Bart Johnston
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The Struggle for International Consensus on Population and
Development / John F. Kantner and Andrew Kantner
Reviewed by Duff G. Gillespie
* Journal subscribers will be able to access a PDF
of the article online; nonsubscribers will be given access after paying
a fee.
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