Table 2. Operational definitions for community level variables used in modeling determinants of modern contraceptive use in 21 study countries.

COMMUNITY LEVEL VARIABLES	DEFINITION
Community demographics and fertility norms
Mean age at marriage in the community	Mean age at marriage for women ages 15–49 in the community
Mean age at first intercourse in the community	Mean age at first intercourse for women ages 15–49 in the community
Mean age at first birth in the community	Mean age at first birth for women ages 15–49 in the community
Mean ideal number of children in the community	Mean ideal number of children in the community
Gender composition of children in the community	Ratio of boys to girls in the community, calculated as the number of living boys divided by the number of living girls.
Community economic prosperity
Mean community wealth index factor score	Mean wealth index factor score, reflects ownership of durable goods and housing characteristics
Community gender norms & inequalities
Mean community violence justification index score	5 point scale of attitudes towards domestic violence, lower score indicates that violence is not justified. Variables included in this index were the following: going out without telling the husband, neglecting children, arguing with the husband, refusing sex with the husband, and burning food. Some variation across countries with regard to questions included.
Mean community decision-making autonomy score	5 point scale of decision making autonomy where a higher score indicates higher decision making control. Variables included in this index were the following: final say on own health care, final say on making large household purchases, final say on making household purchases for daily needs, and final say on visits to family or relatives. Some variation across countries with regard to questions included.
Women in the community with at least a primary education	Proportion of women in the community with at least a primary education
Men in the community with at least a primary education	Proportion of men in the community with at least a primary education
Ratio of men to women employed in the community	Ratio of men employed in the community to women employed in the community (coded: 0 = no; 1 = yes)
Community health knowledge and media exposure
Mean community HIV knowledge index score	7 point scale of knowledge of HIV where higher scores indicate greater knowledge of HIV. Variables included were the following: whether the respondent had heard of HIV/AIDS, three questions about reducing risk for infection (through abstinence, using condoms, and having just one uninfected partner who has not had other partners) and two questions regarding transmission (can people get AIDS virus from mosquitoes, can people get AIDS virus by sharing food with a person who has AIDS.
Mean community reproductive knowledge index score	5 point scale of reproductive health knowledge where higher scores indicate greater knowledge of reproductive health. Variables included were knowledge of the ovulatory cycle, knowledge of a contraceptive method, heard of AIDS or other STDs, heard of other STDs. Some variation across countries with regard to questions included.
Mean community media exposure index score	4 point scale of exposure to reproductive health messages in the media in the past month (radio, TV, and newspaper)