The use of the multiplicity survey to identify migrants

New approaches must be developed and tested to meet the needs for current data on population movement. One such approach is the survey with multiplicity (social networks). It allows respondents to report events (in this case, migration) that occurred to specified relatives living elsewhere. In order to test the value of the approach on a limited, exploratory basis, a two-stage research design was employed. A sample of persons resident in Cranston; Rhode Island who had changed address in the three years preceding the survey, was first identified and information was gathered in Round I on their mobility and on their relatives living in the State. In tum, these relatives (Round II) were asked about the mobility of their parents, siblings, and children. (The responses from Round II should have included the migrants in Round I.) Evaluation of the accuracy of Round II responses in comparison to those obtained in Round I was undertaken in terms of kin relationships, recency of move, and type of move. The results indicate that respondents had a low awareness of their relatives’ movements, that moves of females were more likely to be reported than those of males, that recent moves were more frequently cited, and that moves between communities were more likely to be reported than intracity mobility.     

Negativismr equivocation,and wobbly assent: public “support” for the prochoice platform on abortion

Although disapproval of all justifications for abortion is rare in the United States, our analysis of numerous surveys taken in the 1960s and 1970s shows that support for the full prochoice platform is also rare. This means that respondents who endorse some justifications for abortion and reject others typically constitute about 50 percent of these samples. If forced to choose politically between polar positions, would these people be more likely to side with a positive or a negative extreme? Using Multiple Classification Analysis as a form of discriminant analysis, we examine whether people who appear to form a “middle” group actually are closer in their characteristics to those who are positive, or to those who are negative. Finally, we test to see whether those respondents who endorse all four justifications for abortion (health, child defect, financial stress, and elective abortion) also endorse additional prochoice positions, such as government payments for abortion, abortion without the husband’s or the parent’s consent, and abortion after the first trimester.     

The Consequences of the Tajikistani Civil War for Abortion and Miscarriage

Although a great deal of attention is paid to reproductive health during violent conflicts, the literature is sparse on the consequences of conflict for abortion and miscarriage. This research provides an analysis of a recent historical case: the 1992–1997 civil war in Tajikistan, using the female questionnaire of the 2007 Tajik Living Standards Survey to examine a subsample of 1445 women surveyed who had reached menarche during or after the war and had been pregnant at least once by the time of the survey. The analysis leverages the uneven geographical scope of conflict events during the civil war to pinpoint women’s exposure to violence, measured by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. The results show that for women who had reached menarche during or after the civil war, exposure to conflict events increases the likelihood of ever experiencing miscarriage, but not abortion. Including a spatial lag operator reveals that there were also spillover effects for abortion, in which women who were in a broader region of uncertainty were more likely to induce an abortion. These findings highlight the role of institutional changes in affecting pregnancy loss during and after civil war.

     

Born in another country: Women's experience of labour and birth in Queensland,Australia

BackgroundWomen born outside Australia make up more than a fifth of the Queensland birthing population and like migrants in other parts of the world face the challenges of cultural dislocation and possible language barriers. Recognising that labour and birth are major life events the aim was to investigate the experiences of these women in comparison to native-born English speaking women.MethodsSecondary analysis of data from a population based survey of women who had recently birthed in Queensland. Self-reported clinical outcomes and quality of interpersonal care of 481 women born outside Australia who spoke a language other than English at home were compared with those of 5569 Australian born women speaking only English.ResultsAfter adjustment for demographic factors and type of birthing facility, women born in another country were less likely to be induced, but more likely to have constant electronic fetal monitoring (EFM), to give birth lying on their back or side, and to have an episiotomy. Most women felt that they were treated as an individual and with kindness and respect. However, women born outside Australia were less likely to report being looked after ‘very well’ during labour and birth and to be more critical of some aspects of care.ConclusionIn comparing the labour and birth experiences of women born outside the country who spoke another language with native-born English speaking women, the present study presents a largely positive picture. However, there were some marked differences in both clinical and interpersonal aspects of care.     

Barriers to contraceptive use among Pakistani couples

Despite the existence of a family planning program in Pakistan since 1965 and widespread knowledge among Pakistanis about contraception, there is a high level of unmet need for family planning. One recent survey found that while 53% of married women express the desire to avoid pregnancy, less than 20% use contraception. A recent Population Council study conducted in urban and rural areas of Punjab province investigated personal beliefs, family circumstances, social norms, and gender relations among 1310 married women and 554 of their husbands. The unmet need for contraception was highest among women over age 30 years, those with more living children, less educated women, and women living in rural areas. The study found that while most Pakistanis approve of family planning, obstacles to contraceptive use exist in most marriages. 97% of respondents who wanted another child wished for a boy. That preference for sons influences contraceptive use behavior. The fear of social disapproval of contraceptive use, perceived opposition from in-laws and husbands, and fear of health side effects and divine punishment were major reasons identified against contraceptive use. Female contraceptive users were more autonomous and likely to make domestic decisions without consulting their husbands, while husbands defer to social and cultural norms.     

Pregnant women's attitudes toward the abortion of defective fetuses

A survey asked 190 pregnant women their opinions on whether a hypothetical other woman would be justified in having an abortion under ten different circumstances, four of which related to abnormalities of the fetus. They were then asked whether they would be justified in having an abortion under these same circumstances. Also assessed were these women's views concerning the justifiability of abortion for a specific group of fetal abnormalities, neural tube defects. Respondents were more likely to view abortion as justifiable for a hypothetical other than for themselves. However, there was no evidence that pregnant women's views about abortion are more conservative than those of the general public. The majority of respondents considered abortion of a defective fetus to be justified, both for themselves and for others. The best predictor of abortion attitudes was respondent's views about the ideal number of children in a completed family.This research was supported by a grant from Maternal and Child Health Research, Bureau of Community Health Services, DHHS. Reprint requests should be sent to Dr. Ruth Faden at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Division of Health Education, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205.     

Damaging and daunting: female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment in the newsroom

Female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment are barely documented in the literature about Australian news journalism despite evidence of its ongoing prevalence. There have been some stories of harassment detailed in autobiographies by female journalists and the occasional article in the mainstream media about individual incidents, but it wasn’t until 1996 that a union survey provided statistical evidence of an industry-wide problem. That Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance survey found that more than half of the 368 female participants had experienced sexual harassment at work. In 2012, I conducted the largest survey of female journalists in Australia finding that there was an increased number of respondents who had experienced sexual harassment in their workplaces. In a bid to better understand female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment, this paper analyses written comments made by survey participants in relation to key questions about harassment. It finds that most downplay its seriousness and do not make formal reports because they fear victimisation or retaliation. As a consequence, a culture of secrecy hides a major industry problem where many women believe they should work it out themselves and that harassment is the price they have to pay for working in a male-dominated industry.     

The users of birth control clinics

At the request of the Family Planning Association a Working Party is inquiring into the Association’s work and organisation. In 1960 the Working Party conducted a national survey of the work, organisation and financing of the network of voluntary birth control clinics which the Association had established chiefly since 1948. The main findings of this survey are contained in the Working Party’s interim report, Family Planning and Family Planning Clinics To-day, issued in a restricted edition by the Association in May, 1962. This paper presents the gist of one chapter, assessing the contribution made by clinics to the birth control behaviour of the British people. The clinic survey followed less than twelve months after the Population Investigation Committee’s Marriage Survey so that it was possible to fit data about clinic users into the Marriage Survey’s wider context. To this end tabulations specially prepared by the Marriage Survey are incorporated in this paper.

Clinic users in 1960 were virtually all women. They differed from the majority of birth control users in that they preferred, or at least were advised to try, a minority method—the female cap—which is only slowly gaining in popularity. Clinics recommended this method to virtually all clients, whether newly-wed or mothers of large families. They were consulted by about one in every nine women marrying during the year and by between 1 and 1 1/2 per cent of wives at each later stage of family building. Among clinic users non-manual occupations are more strongly represented, and unskilled and semi-skilled occupations less strongly represented, than in the total population. Many who go to clinics are not beginners, but want to try a different method. But one-third of new clients are women who have not yet borne a child, nearly all young and just starting married life. The growing population of newly-weds among clients is altering the nature of clinic work. Regionally there is evidence of increasing conservatism in clinic work and clinic clientele as one moves from London to Scotland.     

Motherhood status and union formation in Moshi,Tanzania 2002–2003

Age at first union is increasing throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa at the same time that not all couples are waiting for marriage before their first sexual intercourse. We assessed the effect of a premarital first birth on entrance into a first union in an urban area in East Africa—Moshi, Tanzania. The data come from the Moshi Infertility Survey of 2002–2003. Women who spent less than a year in single motherhood were significantly more likely than childless women to enter into a first union, although the magnitude of this relationship was weaker for more recent cohorts. Women who had been single mothers for 5 or more years (about two-thirds of women with a premarital birth) were significantly less likely than women without children to enter into a first union.     

Motherhood status and union formation in Moshi, Tanzania 2002-2003

Age at first union is increasing throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa at the same time that not all couples are waiting for marriage before their first sexual intercourse. We assessed the effect of a premarital first birth on entrance into a first union in an urban area in East Africa -- Moshi, Tanzania. The data come from the Moshi Infertility Survey of 2002-2003. Women who spent less than a year in single motherhood were significantly more likely than childless women to enter into a first union, although the magnitude of this relationship was weaker for more recent cohorts. Women who had been single mothers for 5 or more years (about two-thirds of women with a premarital birth) were significantly less likely than women without children to enter into a first union.     

Going solo: Findings from a survey of women aging without a partner and who do not have children

Greater longevity in the UK population has led to the increasing diversity of women experiencing aging in a multitude of ways. Internationally, gender inequalities in aging are still relatively invisible within both government policy and everyday life for particular groups of women. This article explores the concept of women growing older “solo”—by which we mean women who find themselves nonpartnered and aging without children as they move into later life. We report on the findings from a mixed-methods survey of 76 solo women in the UK aged 50 years and over, used to provide a broader overview of the issues and challenges they face as they move into later life. Qualitative data from the survey captured respondents’ perspectives about the links between their relationships status and well-being in later life and highlighted specific cumulative disadvantages emerging for some women as a result of their solo lifestyles. We discuss two key themes that were identified, “solo-loneliness” and “meaningful futures,” in conjunction with the relevant literature and make suggestions for future research within gender and aging studies that could enhance more positive approaches to solo lifestyles.     

‘I really needed help’: What mothers say about their post-birth care in Queensland,Australia

BackgroundAustralian mothers consistently rate postnatal care as the poorest aspect of their maternity care, and researchers and policymakers have widely acknowledged the need for improvement in how postnatal care is provided.AimTo identify and analyse mothers’ comments about postnatal care in their free text responses to an open ended question in the Having a Baby in Queensland Survey, 2010, and reflect on their implications for midwifery practice and maternity service policies.MethodsThe survey assessed mothers’ experiences of maternity care four months after birth. We analysed free-text data from an open-ended question inviting respondents to write ‘anything else you would like to tell us’. Of the final survey sample (N = 7193), 60% (N = 4310) provided comments, 26% (N = 1100) of which pertained to postnatal care. Analysis included the coding and enumeration of issues to identify the most common problems commented on by mothers. Comments were categorised according to whether they related to in-hospital or post-discharge care, and whether they were reported by women birthing in public or private birthing facilities.ResultsThe analysis revealed important differences in maternal experiences according to birthing sector: mothers birthing in public facilities were more likely to raise concerns about the quality and/or duration of their in-hospital stay than those in private facilities. Conversely, mothers who gave birth in private facilities were more likely to raise concerns about inadequate post-discharge care. Regardless of birthing sector, however, a substantial proportion of all mothers spontaneously raised concerns about their experiences of inadequate and/or inconsistent breastfeeding support.ConclusionWomen who birth in private facilities were more likely to spontaneously report concerns about their level of post-discharge care than women from public facilities in Queensland, and publically provided community based care is not sufficient to meet women's needs. Inadequate or inconsistent professional breastfeeding support remains a major issue for early parenting women regardless of birthing sector.     

Women's autonomy,women's status and fertility-related behavior in Zimbabwe

Women's household decision-making autonomy is a potentially important but less studied indicator of women's ability to control their fertility. Using a DHS sample of 3,701 married black African women from Zimbabwe, I look at women who have no say in major purchases, whether they should work outside the home,and the number of children. When men dominated all household decisions, women were less likely to approve of contraceptive use, discuss their desired number of children with their spouse, report ever use of a modern method of contraception, and to intend to use contraception in the future. However, women's decision-making autonomy was not associated with current modern contraceptive use. Women who had no decision-making autonomy had 0.26 more children than women who had some autonomy. These autonomy measures provide additional independent explanatory power of fertility-related behavior net of traditional measures of women's status such as education and labor force participation.     

Estimates of induced abortion in urban North Carolina

In 1965, Warner developed an interviewing procedure designed to eliminate evasive answer bias when questions of a sensitive nature are asked. He called the procedure ‘randomized response.’ The authors have been studying the technique for several years and, in this paper, are reporting some of the estimates of induced abortion in urban North Carolina using randomized response. Estimates of the proportion of women having an abortion during the past year among women 18–44 years of age are reported. For the study population indices were developed relating induced abortion to total conceptions for whites and nonwhites. The illegal abortion rate per 100 conceptions was estimated to be 14.9 for whites and 32.9 for nonwhites. Estimates of the proportion of women having an abortion during their lifetime among women 18 years old or over are also shown. Among ever married women, the proportion having an abortion during their lifetime declined as education increased. Estimates were high for women with 5 or more pregnancies. Most of the respondents stated that they were satisfied that the randomized response approach would not reveal their personal situation. Furthermore, they did not think their friends would truthfully respond to adirect question regarding abortion.     

Psychosocial correlates and antecedents of abortion: An exploratory study

Longitudinal data are used to examine the relation between young adult women's abortion experience and a variety of antecedent and subsequent personality, perceived environment, and behavior variables. About one-quarter of the women in two separate samples reported that they had had an abortion. Bivariate analyses show that young adult women who have had an abortion are characterized by greater psychosocial unconventionality than women who have not had an abortion. Similar differences along an underlying dimension of conventionality-unconventionality distinguish, antecedent to the abortion experience, women who would later have an abortion from those who would not. The findings are consistent with the expectations of Problem-Behavior Theory (Jessor & Jessor, 1977).This paper is a report from the Young Adult Follow-Up Study (R. Jessor, princial investigator) supported by Grant No. AA-03745 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.We are grateful to Dr. Lee Jessor for her contribution to the overall longitudinal project and to several of the measures employed in this report.     

Desired family size in Thailand: Are the responses meaningful?

Data for both rural and urban women in Thailand indicate that the large majority of respondents are able to provide numerical responses to questions on desired family size. Although there is evidence that some women tend to rationalize the number of children they have when stating the number they would want if they were recently married, the vast majority of respondents prefer a number which is different from the number of living children they had at the time of the interview. Women who had already reached or exceeded their desired number were almost universal in stating they wanted no additional children, whereas only a minority of women who had yet to reach their desired family size said they wanted no more children. Finally, the proportion of women who practiced family planning is substantially greater among women who had already achieved or exceeded their desired family size than among women who had fewer than their desired number. The results thus suggest that, in Thailand at least, responses to family size preferences need to be interpreted with caution but nevertheless can be of use to the population analyst.     

Prevalence of and attitudes to abortion among migrant women in Sydney

This study, based on a socio-demographic survey, conducted in 1988, of 980 ever-married women of Lebanese, Turkish or Vietnamese origin, shows that Turkish women had the most liberal attitudes and reported the highest incidence of abortion. More than half of the Turkish women and only 10–15 per cent of Lebanese and Vietnamese women thought that a woman should have the right to make the abortion decision herself. In spite of religious and moral objections there were many women who were prepared to consider having an abortion in a variety of common situations such as contraceptive failure, rape, extra-marital pregnancy and medical conditions.     

Perinatal psychosocial assessment of women of refugee background

BackgroundWomen of refugee background may be particularly vulnerable to perinatal mental illness, possibly due to increased exposure to psychosocial stressors associated with their forced migration and post-resettlement adjustment.AimThis study aimed to compare psychosocial risk factors reported by women of refugee background receiving maternity services at a public hospital, to those reported by Australian-born women in the same hospital. It further aimed to examine the referrals offered, and accepted, by the women of refugee background reporting psychosocial risk factors for perinatal mental illness.MethodsA retrospective hospital record review was conducted to compare the antenatal and postnatal psychosocial risk factors of 100 women of refugee background and 100 Australian-born women who gave birth at a public hospital in Victoria between 1 July 2015 and 30 April 2016, and who had completed the Maternity Psychosocial Needs Assessment.FindingsWomen of refugee background were more likely than Australian-born women to report financial concerns and low social support at antenatal assessment, but were less likely to report prior mental health problems than Australian-born women at either assessment point. Both groups reported low rates of family violence compared to published prevalence rates. Of the women of refugee background assessed antenatally, 23% were offered referrals, with 52% take-up. Postnatally, 11.2% were offered referrals, with 93% take-up.Discussion/conclusionThis study showed elevated rates of psychosocial risk factors among women of refugee background, however, possible under-reporting of mental health problems and family violence raises questions regarding how to assess psychosocial risk factors with different cultural groups. Lower antenatal referral take-up suggests barriers to acceptance of referrals may exist during pregnancy.     

Transitions From Sexual Relationships Into Cohabitation and Beyond

Much research on cohabitation has focused on transitions from cohabitation to marriage or dissolution, but less is known about how rapidly women progress into cohabitation, what factors are associated with the tempo to shared living, and whether the timing into cohabitation is associated with subsequent marital transitions. We use data from the 2006–2013 National Survey of Family Growth to answer these questions among women whose most recent sexual relationship began within 10 years of the interview. Life table results indicate that transitions into cohabitation are most common early in sexual relationships; nearly one-quarter of women had begun cohabiting within six months of becoming sexually involved. Multivariate analyses reveal important social class disparities in the timing to cohabitation. Not only are women from more-advantaged backgrounds significantly less likely to cohabit, but those who do cohabit enter shared living at significantly slower tempos than women whose mothers lacked a college degree. In addition, among sexual relationships that transitioned into cohabiting unions, college-educated women were significantly more likely to transition into marriage than less-educated women. Finally, although the tempo effect is only weakly significant, women who moved in within the first year of their sexual relationship demonstrated lower odds of marrying than did women who deferred cohabiting for over a year. Relationship processes are diverging by social class, contributing to inequality between more- and less-advantaged young adults.     

Honesty and comfort levels in mothers when screened for perinatal depression and anxiety

PurposeTo evaluate the degree of honesty and level of comfort reported by women when questioned about their emotional wellbeing during the perinatal period; to investigate if honesty and comfort are associated with perinatal depression or perinatal anxiety; and to examine the reasons why women may not always respond honestly.MethodsQualitative and quantitative data from 1597 women from the cross-sectional perinatal mental health substudy (part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health) were analysed using a mixed methods approach.ResultsWhen questioned by their health practitioner about their emotional wellbeing in the perinatal period, 20.7% of women indicated they had not always responded honestly. Reasons for not being honest reflected four main themes: normalizing of symptoms/coping; negative perceptions (self-and others); fear of adverse repercussions; and fear of involvement of health services (trust and confidentiality). The 38.9% of women who did not feel comfortable when questioned by their health practitioner about their emotional wellbeing were four times more likely to report perinatal depression (odds ratio = 4.09; 95% confidence interval = 2.55, 6.57) and nearly twice as likely to report perinatal anxiety (odds ratio = 1.90; 95% confidence interval = 1.24, 2.94) than other women.ConclusionsWomen who are most likely to need mental health care during the perinatal period are also those least likely to be honest about their mental health. A non-judgemental, open and reassuring approach by clinicians may help to reduce the stigma and fears contributing to lack of honest responses, and improve early diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems.