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Coital frequency and sexual abstinence in rural Bangladesh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

L. T. Ruzicka  and
S. Bhatia
L. T. Ruzicka
Affiliation:
Department of Demography, Australian National University, Canberra
S. Bhatia
Affiliation:
Department of Demography, Australian National University, Canberra
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Summary

The paper analyses results of a survey of sexual and reproductive behaviour in a sample of 2301 currently married women aged less than 50 years. The survey was conducted in 22 villages of the ICDDR, B field station in Bangladesh. Admittedly, the sample is not representative as co-operation could not be obtained from about one-third of eligible women. The results suggest higher coital frequencies among Hindu than among Muslim respondents. There appears to be a clear age and marriage duration pattern with coital frequencies declining rapidly to a plateau after about 5 years of marriage and among women aged 25 and over, followed by another steep decline at durations of marriage over 20 years and age 40 and more. Generally, recently married, young, non-breast-feeding, non-contracepting and pregnant respondents reported higher coital frequencies than their peers of opposite characteristics. Post-partum abstinence among both Muslims and Hindus was comparatively short, generally not exceeding 3 months.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , October 1982 , pp. 397 - 420
Copyright
Copyright © 1982, Cambridge University Press

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