Early exposure of adolescents to sexual intercourse has given rise to an increase in adolescent
pregnancy and childbearing, a situation that has proved to have both economic, social and health
implications not only for the adolescent mother but also for her child. Using data from the 2004,
Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey (LDHS, 2004), this study examines the effect of
household characteristics on adolescent childbearing in Lesotho.
The analyses done at three levels were based on a sample of 1,230, never married adolescents
aged 15 to 19 years who had either always lived in the present residence or moved to the
residence before age thirteen. The sample was a sub-sample from the dataset of all women of
reproductive age interviewed during the survey. Logistic regression models were used to check
for the odds of adolescent premarital births.
The results show that only about seven percent of adolescents in the sample had premarital
births. The older adolescents (18 and 19 years old) had the highest rates of premarital births, 14
and 19 percent respectively, indicating that the risk of premarital birth increases with age. The
odds of premarital births was higher among adolescents that had first sexual intercourse at age 15
years or younger, and had achieved primary education or less.
The results also showed the strong influence characteristics of co-resident women have on the
behavior of adolescents. For instance, adolescents co-residing with an older woman that had had
a premarital birth or first birth as a teenager, or who were separated or divorced, had higher odds
of premarital births. The likelihood of adolescent premarital birth was found to be higher in
households that were headed by females as well as in large households.
The findings of this study have implications for programs designed to reduce adolescent
pregnancy and childbearing. Most interventions to date, to reduce adolescent premarital
pregnancy and childbearing, have focused primarily on adolescents themselves. The findings of
this study shows that certain household characteristics influence adolescent premarital births and
should therefore be taken into account in designing interventions to reduce adolescent premarital
childbearing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/5936 |
| Date | 09 January 2009 |
| Creators | Francis, Ifeoma Gloria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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