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Polygamy and fertility in Somalia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Nan E. Johnson  and
A. M. Elmi
Nan E. Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA
A. M. Elmi
Affiliation:
Ministry of National Planning, Mogadishu, Somalia
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Summary

The 1983 Somali Family Health Survey showed that polygamy and monogamy selected women with different social characteristics. Wives in polygamous unions were prone to be younger at first marital cohabitation and to have previous marital disruptions. Since a young age at first cohabitation and number of previous marriages have opposite effects on the cumulative fertility rate of women, the difference in this rate between wives in polygamous and monogamous unions vanished when both factors were controlled in a multivariate analysis.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , April 1989 , pp. 127 - 134
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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