ABSTRACT
Bangladesh society is profoundly gender stratified, and yet male roles in reproductive health processes have not been rigorously investigated. This study examines the association between men's reproductive health knowledge, attitude and behaviour and their wives' subsequent reproductive behaviour using longitudinal data from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). A total of 4969 matched husband-and-wife data from a 1998 survey and women's contraceptive use history data following this survey are used. Results show a significant association between husbands' fertility preferences and current use of any family planning method. When wives' background characteristics, and husbands' background and socioeconomic characteristics are controlled for, the predicted probability of using a method of contraception among non-educated wives whose husbands want more children is 0.49 compared with 0.64 for those whose husbands do not want more children. However, the net effect of husbands' preference for additional children diminishes as wives' level of education increases. Among wives who had completed high school, the predicted probability of using a method of contraception is 0.70 for those whose husbands want more children compared with 0.69 for those whose husbands do not want more children.
Subject(s)
Family Planning Services/statistics & numerical data , Fertility , Reproductive Behavior/psychology , Rural Population , Sexual Behavior , Spouses/psychology , Adult , Bangladesh , Data Collection , Educational Status , Family Planning Services/methods , Female , Gender Identity , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Male , Prospective Studies , Reproductive Behavior/statistics & numerical data , Sex Factors , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
We explore the determinants of domestic violence in two rural areas of Bangladesh. We found increased education, higher socioeconomic status, non-Muslim religion, and extended family residence to be associated with lower risks of violence. The effects of women's status on violence was found to be highly context-specific. In the more culturally conservative area, higher individual-level women's autonomy and short-term membership in savings and credit groups were both associated with significantly elevated risks of violence, and community-level variables were unrelated to violence. In the less culturally conservative area, in contrast, individual-level women's status indicators were unrelated to the risk of violence, and community-level measures of women's status were associated with significantly lower risks of violence, presumably by reinforcing nascent normative changes in gender relations.
Subject(s)
Battered Women/statistics & numerical data , Domestic Violence/statistics & numerical data , Risk Assessment , Rural Population , Social Class , Adult , Bangladesh/epidemiology , Community Participation , Developing Countries , Domestic Violence/ethnology , Educational Status , Female , Humans , Islam , Multivariate Analysis , Prevalence , Religion , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
This study was undertaken to investigate the independent effect of the length of birth interval on malnutrition in infants, and children aged 6-39 months. Data for this study were drawn from a post-flood survey conducted during October-December 1988 at Sirajganj of the Sirajgani district and at Gopalpur of the Tangail district in Bangladesh. The survey recorded the individual weights of 1887 children. Cross-tabulations and logistic regression procedures were applied to analyse the data. The proportion of children whose weight-for-age was below 70% (moderate-to-severely malnourished) and 60% (severely malnourished) of the NCHS median was tabulated against various durations of previous and subsequent birth intervals. The odds of being moderately or severely malnourished were computed for various birth intervals, controlling for: the number of older surviving siblings; maternal education and age; housing area (a proxy for wealth); age and sex of the index child; and the prevalence of diarrhoea in the previous 2 weeks for the index child. About one-third of infants and young children were moderately malnourished and 15% were severely malnourished. The proportion of children who were under 60% weight-for-age decreased with the increase in the length of the subsequent birth interval, maternal education and housing area. The proportion of malnourished children increased with the number of older surviving children. Children were at higher risk of malnutrition if they were female, their mothers were less educated, they had several siblings, and either previous or subsequent siblings were born within 24 months. This study indicates the potential importance of longer birth intervals in reducing malnutrition in children.
