Jackson Elizabeth F, Akweongo Patricia, Sakeah Evelyn, Hodgson Abraham, Asuru Rofina, Phillips James F
Navrongo Health Research Centre, Northern Ghana.
Stud Fam Plann. 2003 Sep;34(3):200-10. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2003.00200.x.
Although many cross-sectional social surveys have included questions about female genital cutting status and correlated personal characteristics, no longitudinal studies have been launched that permit investigation of response biases associated with such surveys. This study draws upon the findings of a longitudinal study of women aged 15 to 49 in rural northern Ghana. The self-reported circumcision status of women interviewed in 1995 was compared with the status they reported when they were interviewed again in 2000 after the government began enforcing a law banning the practice and public information campaigns against it were launched. In all, 13 percent of respondents who reported in 1995 that they had been circumcised stated that they had not been circumcised in the 2000 reinterview; this inconsistency reached 50 percent for the youngest age group. Analysis shows that women who said they had not been circumcised are significantly younger, more likely to be educated, and less likely to practice traditional religion than are women who reported that they were circumcised. Factors that may explain these correlates of denial are discussed, and implications for research are reviewed.
尽管许多横断面社会调查都包含了有关女性生殖器切割状况及相关个人特征的问题，但尚未开展纵向研究来调查与此类调查相关的回应偏差。本研究借鉴了对加纳北部农村地区15至49岁女性进行的一项纵向研究的结果。将1995年接受访谈的女性自我报告的割礼状况与2000年她们在政府开始实施一项禁止该行为的法律并开展反对该行为的宣传活动后再次接受访谈时报告的状况进行了比较。总体而言，1995年报告接受过割礼的受访者中有13%表示在2000年的再次访谈中她们并未接受过割礼；最年轻年龄组的这一不一致率达到了50%。分析表明，声称自己未接受过割礼的女性比报告接受过割礼的女性明显更年轻、受教育程度更高且不太可能信奉传统宗教。文中讨论了可能解释这些否认相关因素的原因，并回顾了对研究的启示。
