Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Jun 19.
Published in final edited form as: J Biosoc Sci. 2010 Jun 21;42(6):787–814. doi: 10.1017/S0021932010000271

Table 4.

The associations between marital, interpersonal and socioeconomic factors and women with one or two children versus women with five or more children in Lopon, 2007

Variable n (%) %
Subfertile
p-value Univariate OR
(95% CI)
Multivariate OR
(95% CI)
Marriage
Married to first husband
0.0001
 Yes 92 (68.7) 21.7 1.00 1.00
 No 42 (31.3) 52.4 5.95 (2.17–16.34) 2.11 (0.48–9.28)
Current marital status 0.36
 Married 116 (87.2) 30.2 1.00
 Has no partner 17 (12.8) 41.2 1.17 (0.79–1.74)
Times married 0.001
 Once 104 (78.8) 24.0 1.00 1.00
 Twice or more 28 (21.2) 57.1 9.35 (2.65–32.94) 3.25 (0.53–20.22)
At first marriage did your husband have
another wife?
0.50
 Yes 30 (22.6) 36.7 1.00
 No 103 (77.4) 30.1 0.74 (0.32–1.71)
Did your husband later marry another wife? 0.0001
 Yes 34 (25.0) 61.8 4.49 (1.93–10.44) 2.45 (0.93–6.49)
 No 102 (75.0) 24.5 1.00 1.00
Would the husband be justified in leaving his
wife, if they were unable to have children?
0.08
 Yes 15 (10.9) 53.3 1.00 1.00
 No 123 (89.1) 30.9 0.46 (0.16–1.32) 0.87 (0.18–4.35)
Would the wife be justified in leaving her
husband, if they were unable to have children?
0.52
 Yes 12 (8.9) 41.7 1.00
 No 123 (91.1) 32.5 0.51 (0.15–1.73)
Interpersonal factorsa
How did your husband’s mother treat you as a
young married wife?
 Helpful to you?
0.10
  Yes 116 (94.3) 27.6 1.00 1.00
  No 7 (5.7) 57.1 2.82 (0.61–13.10) 2.56 (0.55–11.99)
 Did you quarrel? 0.07
  Yes 23 (20.4) 47.8 1.00 1.00
  No 90 (79.7) 27.8 0.59 (0.21–1.66) 0.81 (0.25–2.61)
 Did she change the way she treated you? 0.38
  Yes 12 (10.5) 41.7 1.00
  No 102 (89.5) 29.4 0.83 (0.21–3.22)
How did your husband treat you as a young
married wife?
 Did you quarrel?
0.37
  Yes 33 (26.6) 39.4 1.00
  No 91 (73.4) 30.8 0.65 (0.26–1.63)
 Did he abuse you? 0.68
  Yes 13 (10.6) 38.5 1.00
  No 110 (89.4) 32.7 0.79 (0.22–2.91)
 Did your husband change the way he treated you?
 Yes 48 (34.8) 33.3 1.00 1.00
 No 90 (65.2) 33.3 1.06 (0.49–2.28)
The number of children you have, does that
influence the way you are treated by your:
 Husband?
0.004
  Yes 18 (14.2) 61.1 1.00
  No 109 (85.8) 26.6 0.20 (0.06–0.67)
 Husband’s mother? 0.006
  Yes 12 (11.2) 66.7 1.00
  No 95 (88.8) 27.4 0.33 (0.08–1.40)
 Husband’s sister? 0.24
  Yes 16 (14.3) 43.8 1.00
  No 96 (85.7) 29.2 0.84 (0.23–3.11)
Socioeconomic factors
Education
0.006
 <1 37 (27.0) 24.3 1.14 (0.37–3.58) 0.44 (0.08–2.43)
 1–6 (primary) 40 (29.2) 17.5 1.00 1.00
 7–12 (secondary) 31 (22.6) 45.2 3.25 (1.07–9.86) 1.55 (0.26–9.24)
 Above secondary 29 (21.2) 51.7 3.53 (1.22–10.25) 1.77 (0.12–26.92)
What economic activities do you do today? 0.03
 Trading 30 (22.9) 40.0 1.22 (0.46–3.25) 0.30 (0.06–1.52)
 Farming 74 (56.5) 24.3 1.00 1.00
 Teaching 15 (11.5) 33.3 1.19 (0.36–4.01) 0.46 (0.03–8.06)
 Other 12 (9.2) 66.7 5.59 (1.39–22.53) 1.90 (0.09–40.91)
Did your economic activities change over time? 0.11
 Yes 35 (32.1) 20.0 1.00 1.00
 No 74 (67.9) 35.1 3.06 (0.83–11.27) 5.42 (1.09–26.98)
Do you participate in family meetings? 0.61
 Yes 109 (82.6) 29.4 1.00
 No 23 (17.4) 34.8 1.11 (0.38–3.20)
Do you own personal property? 0.95
 Yes 15 (11.1) 33.3 1.00
 No 120 (88.9 34.3 1.02 (0.31–3.36)
Are you circumcised? 0.71
 Yes 51 (38.1) 29.4 1.00
 No 83 (61.9) 32.5 1.11 (0.50–2.44)
Did you do your kukpol? 0.10
 Yes 65 (48.5) 24.6 1.00 1.00
 No 69 (51.5) 37.7 1.77 (0.78–4.01) 1.85 (0.50–6.85)
Do you participate in a woman’s association? 0.85
 Yes 110 (88.9) 32.7 1.00
 No 26 (19.1) 34.6 0.82 (0.34–2.00)
Does having children make a woman a different
person?
0.37
 Yes 120 (88.2) 32.5 1.00
 No 16 (11.8) 43.8 1.52 (0.47–4.89)
Cared for non-biological children? 0.94
 Yes 74 (55.2) 31.1 1.00
 No 60 (44.8) 31.7 0.85 (0.39–1.84)
Do you receive any gifts from children you
have taken care of?
0.21
 Yes 20 (27.0) 20.0 1.00
 No 54 (73.0) 35.2 0.96 (0.24–3.73)
a

Did not include any of the variables within the group of variables ‘The number of children you have, does that influence the way you are treated by your…’ in the multivariate model. Model did not converge when these variables were included.