Table 1.
Association between sociodemographic, family and reproductive characteristics, and school dropout among single mothers in Cameroun
| Variables | Total (N = 18,791) |
Dropouts (n = 7941) |
Non-dropouts (n = 10,850) |
p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
| Mean ± SD age at the time of the study (years) | 20.5 ± 3.0 | 20.4 ± 3.0 | 20.6 ± 2.9 | 0.001 |
| Mean ± SD age at 1st child’s birth of the (years) | 17.1 ± 1.5 | 16.7 ± 1.6 | 17.1 ± 1.5 | 0.001 |
| Age at 1st child’s birth (%) | ||||
| 10–14 | 1244 (6.6) | 654 (8.2) | 590 (5.4) | 0.001 |
| 15–19 | 17,547 (93.4) | 7287 (91.8) | 10,260 (94.6) | |
| Level of education (%) | ||||
| Vocational school | 395 (2.1) | 99 (1.2) | 296 (2.7) | 0.001 |
| Primary school | 6850 (36.5) | 2021 (25.5) | 4829 (44.5) | |
| High school/University | 11,546 (61.4) | 5821 (73.3) | 5725 (52.8) | |
| Socioantropological region (%) | 0.001 | |||
| Coast | 4395 (23.4) | 1553 (19.6) | 2842 (26.2) | |
| Forest | 9188 (48.9) | 4670 (58.8) | 4518 (41.6) | |
| Grassfield | 4565 (24.3) | 1498 (18.9) | 3067 (28.3) | |
| Sahel | 643 (3.4) | 220 (2.8) | 423 (3.9) | |
| Number of children (%) | 0.001 | |||
| 1 | 12,528 (66.7) | 5014 (63.1) | 7514 (69.3) | |
| 2–3 | 5722 (30.5) | 2694 (33.9) | 3028 (27.9) | |
| ≥ 4 | 541 (2.9) | 233 (2.9) | 308 (2.8) | |
| Amount of expenses during last month (%) | ||||
| < 20 USD | 6455 (34.4) | 2565 (32.3) | 3890 (35.9) | 0.001 |
| 20–50 USD | 6380 (34.0) | 2687 (33.8) | 3693 (34.0) | |
| ≥ 50 USD | 5956 (31.7) | 2689 (33.9) | 3267 (30.1) | |
| Family environment | ||||
| Sent away from family house (%) | 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 2317 (12.3) | 1298 (16.3) | 1019 (9.4) | |
| No | 16,474 (87.7) | 6643 (83.7) | 9831 (90.6) | |
| Father providing for the child needs (%) | 0034 | |||
| Yes | 10,765 (57.3) | 4478 (56.4) | 6287 (57.9) | |
| No | 8026 (42.7) | 3463 (43.6) | 4563 (42.1) | |
| Family history of teenage mothers (%) | 0.01 | |||
| Yes | 12,970 (69.0) | 5678 (71.5) | 7292 (67.2) | |
| No | 5821 (31.0) | 2263 (28.5) | 3558 (32.8) | |
| Partner’s profession (%) | 0.001 | |||
| Student | 5018 (26.7) | 2527 (31.8) | 2491 (23.0) | |
| Trader | 2551 (13.6) | 926 (11.7) | 1625 (15.0) | |
| Craftsmen | 7623 (40.6) | 2929 (36.9) | 4694 (43.3) | |
| Other | 801 (4.3) | 354 (4.5) | 447 (4.1) | |
| Unemployed | 1787 (9.5) | 770 (9.7) | 1017 (9.4) | |
| Civil servant | 1011 (5.4) | 435 (5.5) | 576 (5.3) | |
| Reported sexual behaviour | ||||
| Mean ± SD age at 1st sexual intercourse (years) | 15.4 ± 1.7 | 15.2 ± 1.7 | 15.4 ± 1.7 | 0.001 |
| Number of sexual partners during the last 12 months (%) | 0.001 | |||
| 0 | 1092 (5.8) | 429 (5.4) | 663 (6.1) | |
| 1 | 13,390 (71.3) | 5456 (68.7) | 7934 (73.1) | |
| ≥ 2 | 4309 (22.9) | 2056 (25.9) | 2253 (20.8) | |
| Was raped (%) | ||||
| Yes | 1418 (7.5) | 658 (8.3) | 760 (7.0) | 0.001 |
| No | 17,373 (92.5) | 7283 (91.7) | 10,090 (93.0) | |
| Ever had an induced abortion (%) | ||||
| Yes | 3623 (19.3) | 1542 (19.4) | 2081 (19.2) | 0.682 |
| No | 15,168 (80.7) | 6399 (80.6) | 8769 (80.8) | |
| Ever done HIV screening test (%) | ||||
| Yes | 12,229 (65.1) | 5087 (64.1) | 7142 (62.8) | 0.012 |
| No | 6562 (34.9) | 2854 (35.9) | 3708 (34.2) | |
| Use of a modern contraceptive method (%) | ||||
| Yes | 7334 (39.0) | 3133 (39.5) | 4201 (38.7) | 0.311 |
| No | 11,457 (61.0) | 4808 (60.5) | 6649 (61.3) | |
| Use condom during the last sexual intercourse (%) | ||||
| Yes | 6162 (32.8) | 2698 (34.0) | 3464 (31.9) | 0.003 |
| No | 12,629 (67.2) | 5243 (66.0) | 7386 (68.1) | |
| Ever had and STD (%) | ||||
| Yes | 3760 (20.0) | 1325 (16.7) | 2435 (22.3) | 0.001 |
| No | 15,031 (80.0) | 6616 (83.3) | 8415 (77.7) | |
| Had an ANC visit during pregnancy (%) | ||||
| Yes | 17,900 (95.3) | 7571 (95.3) | 10,329 (95.2) | 0.65 |
| No | 891 (4.7) | 370 (4.7) | 521 (4.8) | |