Advancing the Agency of Adolescent Girls

Edmonds, Eric V.; Feigenberg, Benjamin; Leight, Jessica

doi:10.3386/w27513

Cited by 19 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…Also, addressing urban poverty and access to services in these communities then becomes a signi cant factor in controlling fertility [1,52]. In India, school-based life skills training programs have been noted as effective in increasing agency and the socioeconomic status of girls, while encouraging them to stay in school [53].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between socioeconomic status and fertility among adolescents aged 15 to 19: An analysis of the 2013/2014 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS)

Munakampe

Fwemba

Zulu

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Adolescents face significant barriers to access and utilization of sexual and reproductive health services in many low-income settings which in turn may be associated with adverse consequences such as early pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and unsafe abortion and mortality. There is evidence suggesting that limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services among adolescents contribute to these outcomes. We aimed to find out the factors that affect the fertility of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years in Zambia and to identify possible drivers of adolescents’ fertility. Methods: Secondary analysis of the ZDHS 2013/14 data was carried out to find out the factors that affect the fertility rate of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years using multivariate logistic regression (n=3,666).Results: Overall, 23.1 % of adolescents had given birth at least once in the five years leading to the survey (n= 3,666, 99.4% response), and 49.8 % were rural-based while 50.2% were urban-based. The median number of schooling was 8 years (IQR= 6-10). About 52% of the adolescents were in the poorer, poor and medium wealth quintiles while the other 48% were in the rich and richer quintiles. Factors found to affect fertility include residence, wealth status, educational attainment, marriage and abortion. An urban-based adolescent with a lower socioeconomic status was 2.4 times more likely to give birth compared to rural-based poorer adolescents (95% CI 1.5, 3.7 p<0.001). Although odds of giving birth were much higher among rural married adolescents (aOR 8.0, 95% CI 5.4, 11.9 p<0.001) compared to urban married adolescents (aOR 5.5, 95%CI 8.3, 16.0, p<0.001), and these relationship both statistically significant, higher educational attainment (aOR 0.7 95% CI 0.6, 0.8 p<0.001) and abortion (aOR 0.3 95% CI 0.1, 0.8 p=0.020) reduced these odds, particularly for rural-based adolescents. Conclusion: Despite response aimed at reducing adolescent fertility, low wealth status, low educational attainment and early marriage remain significant drivers of adolescent fertility in Zambia. There is a need to address access to sexual and reproductive health needs of urban adolescents with a lower socioeconomic status.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between socioeconomic status and fertility among adolescents aged 15 to 19: An analysis of the 2013/2014 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS)

Munakampe

Fwemba

Zulu

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…An extensive literature identifies numerous drivers of women's empowerment. These include providing women with resources and information (Valdivia, 2015;Roy et al, 2019), expanding education opportunities for girls (Geddes and Lueck, 2002;Spohr, 2003), raising aspirations (Kosec et al, 2019;Edmonds, Feigenberg, and Leight, 2020), and legal reforms enhancing women's inheritance rights (Ali, Deininger, and Goldstein, 2014;Bhalotra, Brulé, and Roy, 2018;Bose and Das, 2017). We show that a policy reform not explicitly targeting women, but altering accountability relationships between citizens and government-decentralization-can also impact women's empowerment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Bringing power to the people or the well-connected? Evidence from Ethiopia on the gendered effects of decentralizing service delivery

Kosec¹,

Song²,

Zhao³

2020

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The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a CGIAR Research Center established in 1975, provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition. IFPRI's strategic research aims to foster a climate-resilient and sustainable food supply; promote healthy diets and nutrition for all; build inclusive and efficient markets, trade systems, and food industries; transform agricultural and rural economies; and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is integrated in all the Institute's work. Partnerships, communications, capacity strengthening, and data and knowledge management are essential components to translate IFPRI's research from action to impact. The Institute's regional and country programs play a critical role in responding to demand for food policy research and in delivering holistic support for country-led development. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world.

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“…A study exploring the agency of adolescent girls in India showed that life-skills training boosted self-esteem and selfcon dence in adolescent girls increasing their ability to make decisions for themselves. Also, their value at the household-level was increased, thereby increasing their ability to negotiate their preferences [24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have noted how competing discourses relate with each other, particularly, global discourses interacting with and shaped by local socio-political contexts [19], competing for dominance or indeed existing in plurality or hybridity [19][20][21], and sometimes perpetuating the lack of access to information and services for young people [22]. For this paper, a critical postcolonial perspective is drawn upon to understand the discourses that surround the increasing burden of adolescent fertility, highlighting the structural transformations that have impacted negatively on young people and their agency [23,24]; in this case, the ability to make fertility-control-related decisions. Epistemologically, the postcolonial critical perspective highlights the linkages among the domains of human experience-the psychological, ideological, social, political, intellectual, and aesthetic, in ways that show how inseparable they are [25], and their on-going manifestations in health and wellness of communities [26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical discourse analysis of adolescent fertility In Zambia-a postcolonial perspective

Munakampe

Michelo

Zulu

2020

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Background: Despite global and regional policies that promote the reduction of adolescent fertility through ending early marriages and reducing early child-bearing, adolescent fertility remains high in most sub-Saharan countries. This study aimed to explore the competing discourses that shape adolescent fertility control in Zambia. Methods: A qualitative case study design was adopted, involving 33 individual interviews and 9 focus group discussions with adolescents and other key-informants such as parents, teachers and policymakers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data critically. Results: Adolescents’ age significantly reduced their access to Sexual and Reproductive Health, SRH services. Also, adolescent fertility discussions were influenced by marital norms and Christian beliefs, as well as health and rights values. While early marriage or child-bearing was discouraged, married adolescents and adolescents who had given birth before faced fewer challenges when accessing SRH information and services compared to their unmarried or nulliparous counterparts. Besides, the major influencers such as parents, teachers and health workers were also conflicted about how to package SRH information to young people, due to their varying roles in the community. Conclusion: The pluralistic view of adolescent fertility is fueled by “multiple consciousnesses”. This is evidenced by the divergent discourses that shape adolescent fertility control in Zambia, compounded by the disempowered position of adolescents in their communities. We assert that the competing moral worlds, correct in their own right, viewed within the historical and social context unearth significant barriers to the success of interventions targeted towards adolescents’ fertility control in Zambia, thereby propagating the growing problem of high adolescent fertility. This suggests proactive consideration of these discourses when designing and implementing adolescent fertility interventions.

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Advancing the Agency of Adolescent Girls

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Association between socioeconomic status and fertility among adolescents aged 15 to 19: An analysis of the 2013/2014 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS)

Association between socioeconomic status and fertility among adolescents aged 15 to 19: An analysis of the 2013/2014 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS)

Bringing power to the people or the well-connected? Evidence from Ethiopia on the gendered effects of decentralizing service delivery

A critical discourse analysis of adolescent fertility In Zambia-a postcolonial perspective

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