Choma College of Nursing and Midwifery, P.O. Box 630063, Choma, Zambia.
School of Public Health, University of Zambia, Ridgeway Campus, P.O. Box 50110, Lusaka, Zambia.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jul 9;21(1):1360. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11372-w.
The importance of educating female adolescents has been recognized as critical to the development of any country. However, in low income countries like Zambia they often drop out of school due to poverty, early pregnancy and early marriages. Some studies indicate that economic support such as Social Cash Transfers (SCTs) can mitigate the effects of poverty on female adolescents by improving their school participation and helping postpone pregnancy and marriage. This study aimed to explore the role of economic support in influencing education and sexual decision making among female adolescents in a randomised controlled trial in Zambia.
The study adopted a qualitative approach. It utilized purposive and convenient sampling. Data were collected from 6 schools using 18 in-depth interviews (IDIs) and 4 focus group discussions (FGDs) comprising 48 school-going female adolescents in grade 8 aged 14 to 17. All participants received economic support in form of SCTs and payment of school fees as part of the Research Initiative to Support the Empowerment of Girls (RISE), a Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Findings suggested several benefits of the economic support for the female adolescents such as economic independence and empowerment; increased assertiveness and autonomy; reduced desire for sexual relationships with boys in exchange for cash and gifts; increased motivation for school; enhanced parental and community support for female adolescents' education and; reduced school dropouts. However, they also experienced jealousy from those who did not benefit from the economic support.
Economic support played a significant role in influencing both educational and sexual decision making among female adolescents.
ISRCTN Registry: ISRCTN12727868 , (4 March 2016).
教育少女的重要性已被认为对任何国家的发展都至关重要。然而，在像赞比亚这样的低收入国家，少女们往往因贫困、早孕和早婚而辍学。一些研究表明，经济支持，如社会现金转移（SCTs），可以通过改善她们的学校参与度并帮助推迟怀孕和婚姻，减轻贫困对少女的影响。本研究旨在探讨经济支持在赞比亚一项随机对照试验中对少女教育和性决策的影响。
本研究采用定性方法。它利用了有目的和便利的抽样。数据是从 6 所学校收集的，采用 18 次深度访谈（IDIs）和 4 次焦点小组讨论（FGDs），共涉及 48 名 14 至 17 岁的八年级在校少女。所有参与者都接受了 SCTs 的经济支持，并支付了学费，这是支持女孩赋权研究倡议（RISE）的一部分，这是一项整群随机对照试验。使用主题分析对数据进行分析。
研究结果表明，经济支持对少女有多种好处，如经济独立和赋权；增加自信和自主权；减少为了现金和礼物与男孩发生性关系的欲望；提高对学校的积极性；增强父母和社区对少女教育的支持；以及减少辍学率。然而，她们也因此遭到了没有得到经济支持的人的嫉妒。
经济支持在影响少女的教育和性决策方面发挥了重要作用。
ISRCTN 注册：ISRCTN66226462 （2016 年 3 月 4 日）。
