Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wachemo University, Hosanna, Ethiopia.
Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Faculty of Public Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 30;17(6):e0270738. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270738. eCollection 2022.
Female genital cutting (FGC) is still among the most common harmful traditional practices, especially in Africa and Asia. Despite the existence of rich evidence on the prevalence of FGC, information about the primary target audiences' (girls') intention toward FGC is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the predictors of primary school girls' behavioral intention toward female genital cutting.
An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 08 to 28, 2019 in Dunna district, South Ethiopia. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select 354 uncircumcised female students. A self-administered pre-tested structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were entered into Epi data manager version 4.0.2 and exported to STATA version 16.0. Descriptive analyses such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were performed as necessary. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of primary school girls' intention to experience FGC.
The mean age of the respondents was 13.09±1.69 years with an age range of 10 to 18 years. Of the 354 respondents, 156 (44.1%) intended to experience FGC. The model accounted for 76.58% of the variance in primary school girls' intention to experience FGC. Among socio-demographic characteristics, mothers' educational level of ≤8 grade (β = 1.95, p<0.001) and the age of the respondents (β = -0.23, p = 0.036) predicted primary school girls' intention toward FGC. Among the constructs of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), direct perceived behavioral control (β = 0.47, p = 0.015), indirect perceived behavioral controls (β = 0.05, p = 0.002), and direct subjective norms (β = 0.18, p = 0.039) predicted primary school girls' intention to experience FGC.
In this study, we found that primary school girls' intention toward FGC was high. The educational level of mothers and the age of the respondents had a great influence on primary school girls' intention to experience FGC. Perceived lack of power and social pressure also predicted primary school girls' intention to engage in genital cutting. The findings suggest that FGC is mainly performed by the decision of the parents irrespective of the girls' preferences. Therefore, behavioral change communication interventions such as media campaigns, peer education and community dialogue guided by the TPB for empowering girls to confront FGC and reducing the influence of referents need to be focused.
女性生殖器切割（FGC）仍然是最常见的有害传统习俗之一，尤其是在非洲和亚洲。尽管有大量关于 FGC 流行情况的证据，但关于主要目标受众（女孩）对 FGC 的意向的信息有限。因此，本研究旨在确定小学女生对女性生殖器切割的行为意向的预测因素。
这是一项 2019 年 5 月 8 日至 28 日在埃塞俄比亚南部 Dunna 区进行的基于机构的横断面研究。采用两阶段抽样技术选择了 354 名未割礼的女学生。使用自我管理的预测试结构化问卷收集数据。数据输入 Epi Data 经理版本 4.0.2 并导出到 STATA 版本 16.0。根据需要进行描述性分析，如频率、百分比、平均值和标准差。进行单变量和多变量线性回归分析，以确定小学女生体验 FGC 的意图的预测因素。
受访者的平均年龄为 13.09±1.69 岁，年龄范围为 10 至 18 岁。在 354 名受访者中，有 156 名（44.1%）打算接受 FGC。该模型解释了小学女生体验 FGC 意图的 76.58%的差异。在社会人口特征方面，母亲的教育程度≤8 年级（β=1.95，p<0.001）和受访者的年龄（β=-0.23，p=0.036）预测了小学女生对 FGC 的意图。在计划行为理论（TPB）的结构中，直接感知行为控制（β=0.47，p=0.015）、间接感知行为控制（β=0.05，p=0.002）和直接主观规范（β=0.18，p=0.039）预测了小学女生体验 FGC 的意图。
在这项研究中，我们发现小学女生对 FGC 的意图很高。母亲的教育程度和受访者的年龄对小学女生体验 FGC 的意图有很大影响。感知缺乏权力和社会压力也预测了小学女生参与生殖器切割的意图。研究结果表明，FGC 主要是由父母的决定决定的，而不是女孩的偏好。因此，需要以 TPB 为指导，针对女孩进行行为改变沟通干预，如媒体宣传、同伴教育和社区对话，赋予女孩权力，以应对 FGC 并减少参照者的影响。
