What is Associated with Married Women’s Contraceptive Behavior in Ghana?

Loretta E. Bass, University of Oklahoma
Morgan Richards, University of Oklahoma

Using the 2008 Ghana DHS data, this research models what is associated with married women’s contraceptive behaviors and uses logistic regressions to examine whether a woman reports: 1) ever using contraception and 2) ever using a condom. Using social dominance theory’s four bases of gendered power, authors find partial support to the hypothesis that a woman’s increased power vis-à-vis her husband translates into higher likelihoods of contraceptive use. Both greater male household and sexual decision-making power and greater women’s resource control are associated with lower odds of contraceptive use, while having more children is associated with higher odds, net of other effects. Condom use operates differently than the broader contraceptive use category; greater male sexual decision-making power is associated with a lower likelihood of ever using a condom, while having more children is associated with a lower probability of ever using a condom.