Religious Affiliation and Contraceptive Use in Kenya
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UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG FACULTY OF HUMANITIES SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEMOGRAPHY AND POPULATION STUDIES Religious Affiliation and Contraceptive use in Kenya A RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE FIELD OF DEMOGRAPHY AND POPULATION STUDIES FOR THE YEAR 2014. Saira Abdulla 382942 26/05/2014 Supervisor: Professor Clifford Odimegwu i Declaration I, Saira Abdulla hereby declare that this research report is my own original work. It is being submitted to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of Demography and Population Studies. I declare that to the best of my knowledge it has not been submitted before in part or in full for any degree or examination at this or any other university. Candidate: Saira Abdulla ……………………………. Date: 31 July 2014 ii Abstract Background Religion is widely known to affect the acceptance of modern contraception among people, thus affecting their reproductive behavioural outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. The significance of religion on the use of contraceptives has been currently neglected in SSA. Fertility transitions have been widely attributed to the increased use of contraceptives among women worldwide. Given that religion plays an important role in post-colonial Kenya, this study examined the differentials in contraceptive use by religious affiliation as well as the demographic and socio-economic factors that affect the use of contraceptives in Kenya. Methodology The study obtained data from the Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS, 2008- 2009) that uses a national cross sectional study design. The study population was women of reproductive ages (15-49 years) who were sexually active and the sample size was 4, 207. This study made use of descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression. Results Religious affiliation is a significant predictor of contraceptive use in Kenya. Muslims were 51% less likely to use modern methods of contraceptives compared to Christians. There was no significant difference in the use of contraceptives among Roman Catholics and Protestants. Demographic and socio-economic factors - specifically age, education, number of living children, fertility intention, wealth and marital status - were significantly associated with the use of modern methods of contraceptives. Conclusion Religious affiliation affects the use of contraceptives and plays a vital role in the reproductive behaviours of women in Kenya. The low levels of contraceptive use among Muslims are accounted for by their low socio-economic characteristics in addition to Islam’s pro-natal doctrine. The lack of contraceptive use differentials among Roman Catholics and Protestants is as a result of their similar socio-economic characteristics, regardless of Roman Catholics pro-natal doctrine. Thus, a frontier for further study is to examine how religious involvement affects contraceptive use in addition to religious affiliation. iii Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Head of Department in Demography and Population Studies, Professor Clifford Odimegwu for his guidance and constant support in ensuring the completion of this study. I would further like to thank my family and friends for their motivation and patience throughout the duration of my studies. I would also like to acknowledge the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, USA, through support to the interdisciplinary Demography and Population Studies Programme run through the Schools of Social Sciences and Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, for their financial support thus enabling the completion of my studies. iv Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ vi List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Problem statement ....................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Research question ........................................................................................................ 6 1.4. Research objectives ..................................................................................................... 6 1.5. Justification ................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 9 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 9 2.2. Determinants of contraceptive use .............................................................................. 9 2.3. Religion and contraceptive use ................................................................................. 13 2.4. Theoretical and conceptual frameworks ................................................................... 17 2.4.1 Particularized theology hypothesis ......................................................................... 17 2.4.2 Characteristics Hypothesis ...................................................................................... 17 2.4.3 Conceptual framework ............................................................................................ 18 Chapter 3: Methodology .......................................................................................................... 21 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 21 3.2. Sample design ........................................................................................................... 21 3.3. Survey questionnaires ............................................................................................... 21 3.4. Sample size and study population ............................................................................. 22 3.5. Data methods ............................................................................................................. 22 3.5.1 Main variables used in the study and definitions .................................................... 22 3.6. Data analysis ............................................................................................................. 24 3.7. Research hypothesis .................................................................................................. 26 3.8. Ethical considerations ............................................................................................... 27 3.9. Limitations ................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 4: Results .................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 5: Discussion .............................................................................................................. 45 Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations ........................................................................ 52 6.1. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 52 6.2. Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 54 References ................................................................................................................................ 56 v List of Tables Table 1: Percentage distribution of respondents by background characteristics, Kenya 2008-2009 28 Table 2: Percentage distribution of contraceptive use by background characteristics among respondents, Kenya 2008-2009 31 Table 3: Percentage distribution of respondents selected characteristics among religious groups, Kenya 2008-2009 35 Table 4: Percentage distribution of respondents religious affiliation controlled for contraceptive use and selected characteristics, Kenya 2008-2009 38 Table 5: Logistic Regression and odds ratio of current contraceptive use among religious affiliation controlling for demographic and socio-economic characteristics, Kenya 2008-2009 39 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Conceptual framework, adapted from Bongaarts Proximate Determinants of Fertility, 1978 19 vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Background Fertility transitions have been widely attributed to the increased use of contraceptives among women worldwide (Yeatman & Trinitapoli, 2008). The use of birth controls by fecund women has allowed couples the opportunity to control childbearing during the female reproductive span (Magadi & Curtis, 2003). In addition,