ICF Macro, Atlanta, GA, USA.
J Biosoc Sci. 2011 Jul;43(4):385-400. doi: 10.1017/S0021932011000083. Epub 2011 Mar 30.
This study investigates how various social, demographic and economic factors affect spousal agreement on preferred waiting time to next birth. Data for matched cohabiting couples from ten Demographic and Health Surveys in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe), conducted between 2003 and 2006, were analysed to compare reported waiting time to next birth by the husband and the wife. Couples where the reported waiting time to next birth was the same for both partners (difference is 0 months) were defined as having agreement on waiting time to next birth. In sub-Saharan Africa, spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth was found to be associated with wanting the next child sooner. When the spouses disagree on waiting time to next birth, the wives want to wait longer than their husbands in most cases. Additionally, the study found that demographic factors are the primary determinants of spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth, not socioeconomic factors. The strongest predictors of spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth were number of living children, difference between the number of ideal and living children and wife's age. Couples with fewer children, a younger wife and those with a difference of five or more children between ideal and living number of children were more likely to agree on waiting time to next birth. Effects of socioeconomic factors, such as education and wealth status, on spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth were generally weak and inconsistent. The findings highlight some of the challenges in developing programmes to promote spousal communication and birth spacing and underscore the need for programmes to be gender-sensitive.
本研究旨在探讨各种社会、人口和经济因素如何影响夫妻双方对下一次生育最佳等待时间的偏好。分析了来自撒哈拉以南非洲地区（贝宁、布基纳法索、加纳、几内亚、马里、埃塞俄比亚、肯尼亚、莫桑比克、赞比亚和津巴布韦） 10 项人口与健康调查中 1000 对同居夫妇的数据，以比较丈夫和妻子报告的下一次生育等待时间。当夫妻双方报告的下一次生育等待时间相同时（差异为 0 个月），则认为他们在生育等待时间上达成了一致。在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，夫妻双方在生育等待时间上的一致性与希望尽快生育下一个孩子有关。当夫妻双方对生育等待时间存在分歧时，在大多数情况下，妻子希望等待的时间比丈夫长。此外，研究发现，人口因素是夫妻双方在生育等待时间上达成一致的主要决定因素，而不是社会经济因素。对生育等待时间达成一致的最强预测因素是现有子女数量、理想子女数量与现有子女数量之间的差异以及妻子的年龄。子女数量较少、妻子年龄较小且理想子女数量与现有子女数量相差 5 个或更多的夫妇更有可能就生育等待时间达成一致。教育和财富状况等社会经济因素对夫妻双方在生育等待时间上达成一致的影响通常较弱且不一致。这些发现强调了在制定促进夫妻间沟通和生育间隔的方案时所面临的一些挑战，并突出了方案需要具有性别敏感性。
