The Role of Family Dynamics in Teenage Pregnancy and Childbearing in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Contextual characteristics affect health-related phenomena, including teenage pregnancy, above and beyond individual-level factors notably age, education and marital status. Numerous studies in sub-Saharan Africa advocate for the study of ecological factors linked to teenage pregnancy. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) very recently acknowledged and promoted an environmental model proposed by Blum and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in their global adolescent pregnancy report to investigate milieux beyond the teenage female. The widespread social process of changing family dynamics is a feature of many sub-Saharan African countries that may be relevant to understanding patterns of teenage pregnancy and childbearing. Given the importance of family in African culture and the persistent occurrence of teenage pregnancy, the objective of this chapter is to investigate whether family dynamics spill over to teenage pregnancy and childbearing. Building on evidence from the developed world that family variables can have an effect on sexual attitudes and behaviour, this chapter uses data from the Demographic and Health Surveys to estimate multilevel logistic models that identify associations between teenage pregnancy and family structure and disruption while controlling for demographic and socio-economic factors over and above describing the levels and trend of pregnancy and childbearing for teenage females in 15 sub-Saharan African countries. Our findings present the influence that family has in the childbearing state of teenage females in sub-Saharan Africa and demonstrate that considering the broader familial environment reveals important insights into teenage pregnancy and childbearing in the area.