English  Français

Bridewealth payment and condom negotiation self-efficacy of married and cohabiting women in Ghana

Charlotte Ofori, Regional Institute For Population Studies, University Of Ghana
Naa Dodua Dodoo, University of Ghana
Adriana A. Biney, University Of Ghana
Francis Dodoo, Pennsylvania State University

In sub-Saharan Africa, where bridewealth exchange is widespread, contraceptive uptake remains low amongst married and cohabiting women. Examining factors that limit women’s condom negotiation self-efficacy is vital in addressing issues related to sexually-transmitted-infections and unwanted pregnancies. The study relied on data from 1,659 married and cohabiting women from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey(GDHS). Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between bridewealth payment status and other predictors of women’s condom negotiation self-efficacy. About 69% of married and cohabiting women stated that they could negotiate condom use with their partners. About 53% of women stated that bridewealth had been fully paid in their current union, and 24% were in cohabiting unions. Cohabiting women were 1.66 times as likely as their counterparts in the fully paid category to have stated that they could negotiate condom use. Also age, education, religious affiliation, participation in household decisions, woman’s fertility preference, having ever tested for HIV, knowledge of HIV transmission, region of residence and relative spousal education were significant predictors of condom negotiation self-efficacy. Policies and programmes that seek to empower women and increase reproductive decision making autonomy should consider the influence of culture(bridewealth), and men’s roles in reproductive health discussions.

Keywords: Family planning and contraception, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Culture, ethnicity, race, religion and language

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P9.