Single motherhood in Ghana: analysis of trends and predictors using demographic and health survey data

Abstract

The rising rate of single-mother families has gained scholarly and policy attention. Understanding the dynamics in the socio-economic and demographic transformations that have led to the relatively high single-mother families in Ghana is important to advance policy and intervention to mitigate adverse effects of single motherhood. The study sought to examine the trends and predictors of single motherhood in Ghana from 1993 to 2014. This paper was based on data from the last five waves of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive statistics of proportions with Chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used to assess individual and contextual factors associated with single motherhood in Ghana. The proportion of single motherhood increased significantly over the period from 14.1% in 1993 to 19.5% in 2014. Premarital birth emerged as the major pathway to single motherhood. Among individual factors, the likelihood of single motherhood declines as age at first sex [OR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.48,0.70] and first birth [OR = 0.43; CI = 0.32,0.59] were 25 years and above. Also, Contraceptive users were less likely to be single mothers than non-users. Contextually, women who profess Islam [OR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.46, 0.74] were less likely to be single mothers than women who had no religious affiliation. We observed that, after accounting some important factors, women with higher economic status—richer [OR = 0.76; 95% CI = 0.59,0.96] and richest [OR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.31,0.56] were less likely to be single mothers than poorest women. The findings give an impression of single mothers being over-represented among economically poor women. Policies and programmes meant to mitigate adverse effects of single motherhood should also focus on empowering single mothers and their children as a way of alleviating poverty and improve the well-being of children in this family type, as well as enhance Ghana’s capacity to attain the Sustainable Development Goal 1, particularly target 1.2.

Influence of distance to health facilities on clinical breast cancer screening behaviour among women in five sub-Saharan African countries

“…The hierarchical nature of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), which involves respondents being layered within survey clusters, has the potential to bias standard errors. Therefore, the Huber-White technique was utilised to derive robust standard errors, as suggested by Ayebeng, et al [ 23 ]. A multicollinearity test was performed on each variable, and the results indicated that the variables in the models had a mean-variance inflation factor (VIF) of 2.34.…”

The financial hardships of single mothers: A review of two decades

“…Among single mothers, economic equilibrium variables, such as household earnings and housing type, had a more substantial impact on depression (Kim, 2018). Therefore, there is a correlation between single mothers' poverty and a greater rate of depressive symptoms (Atkins (2010); Ayebeng et al, (2022); Montoya (2017); Babaiefard (2014); Chant (2014)).…”

Cumulative contextual risk, mothers' and fathers' parenting, and adolescents' psychosocial problems in Ghana

“…Multiple risk factors often cluster together in adverse environments. For example, poverty often co‐occurs with other factors such as single parenthood, residential instability, and crowding in LMICs (Ayebeng et al., 2022; Barbarin & Richter, 1999; Walker et al., 2011). Research conducted predominantly in Western and other high‐income countries has shown that the cumulative effect of these risk factors on adjustment is more detrimental than the impact of each individual risk exposure (Evans et al., 2013).…”

“…Families in sub‐Saharan West Africa, especially in Ghana, disproportionately experience numerous contextual risk factors that affect them. These factors, such as poverty, hunger, large family size, and single parenthood, have been linked to adverse psychosocial outcomes among adolescents (Ayebeng et al., 2022; Black et al., 2017; Grantham‐McGregor et al., 2007; Greif & Dodoo, 2015; Walker et al., 2007). Despite the relevance of the cumulative risk approach in the Ghanaian context, only a few studies have investigated the combined effect of multiple risks on adjustment outcomes.…”