Peer-reviewed article
Child marriage and its association with partner controlling behaviour against adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa
Bright Opoku Ahinkorah, Richard Gyan Aboagye, Joshua Okyere, Abdul-Aziz Seidu, Eugene Budu et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study used Demographic and Health Survey data from 26 sub-Saharan African countries to look at child marriage and partner controlling behaviour among 26,970 girls and young women aged 15 to 24. About 55% had married as children, and about 68% had experienced controlling behaviour from a partner. Those who married as child brides were more likely to experience controlling behaviour than those who did not. The authors call for policies and interventions to prevent child marriage and to raise young women's awareness of controlling behaviour.
Key points
- Average prevalence of child marriage was 55.40%, ranging from 19.62% in South Africa to 85.10% in Chad.
- Average prevalence of partner controlling behaviour was 68.36%, ranging from 38.40% in Burundi to 88.18% in Gabon.
- Child brides had higher odds of partner controlling behaviour (aOR = 1.31; 95% CI 1.21–1.43).
- Young women in Western (aOR = 1.51) and Eastern (aOR = 1.31) sub-Saharan Africa were more likely to experience controlling behaviour than those in Central Africa.
- The study used the most recent DHS surveys from 2010 to 2020 in 26 countries.
Limitations
The abstract describes an association in survey data, so it cannot show that child marriage causes controlling behaviour. It also does not evaluate any intervention or say how the measures were defined or reported.
Abstract
Abstract Background Child marriage and partner controlling behaviours are culturally seated phenomena in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Child marriage refers to any legal or customary union involving a boy or girl below the age of 18. Partner controlling behaviour on the other hand refers to a situation where a sexual partner consistently tries to control their spouse’s behaviours, movements, and social contacts with other people. This study examined the association between child marriage and partner controlling behaviour among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in SSA. Methods We extracted data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys of 26 countries in SSA. Countries whose surveys were conducted from 2010 to 2020 were included in the study. A total of 26,970 AGYW (15–24 years) were included in the study. We used a multilevel mixed-effect binary logistic regression analysis to examine the association between child marriage and partner controlling behaviour. Results The average prevalence of child marriage was 55.40% (95% CI: 48.83–61.97). This proportion ranged from 19.62% (95% CI: 16.71–22.53) in South Africa to 85.10% (95% CI: 83.14–87.06) in Chad. The proportion of AGYW who had experienced partner controlling behaviour was 68.36% (95% CI: 64.40–72.33), and this ranged from 38.40% (95% CI: 35.55–41.25) in Burundi to 88.18% (95% CI: 83.80–92.56) in Gabon. AGYW who married as child brides were more likely [aOR = 1.31; 95% CI = 1.21, 1.43] to experience partner controlling behaviour compared to those who did not marry as child brides. AGYW in Western [aOR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.33, 1.71] and Eastern [aOR = 1.31; 95% CI = 1.13, 1.50] part of SSA were more likely to experience partner controlling behaviour compared to those in Central Africa. Conclusions Our study has shown that there is a significant association between child marriage and the likelihood of experiencing partner controlling behaviour in SSA. Effective policies and interventions are, therefore, needed to prevent child marriage and raise AGYW’s awareness of its implication on victims of partner controlling behaviours.