EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF MALE FACTOR AS A DETERMINANT OF REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR IN THE CENTRAL SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF EDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between male factors and reproductive behavior in Central Senatorial District of Edo State. The background to this study was derived from the need to find out more about why the population growth has continued to increase unabated despite the existence of a population policy (population control) at ensuring a relatively population size in Nigeria. For this course, five (5) objectives and four (4) hypotheses were generated. A sample size of nine hundred (900) respondents (that is, married couples of childbearing age) was selected from the five local government areas that constitute the Central Senatorial district of Edo State using the multistage sampling method. Data collection focused on the social survey method, mainly on the questionnaire. This study was adopted to find out if there were relationships between: (i) educational attainment and reproductive behavior (ii) religious belief system and attitude to family planning, (iii) husband’s attitude to family planning and spouse’s reproductive behavior and (iv) sex of children and reproductive behavior. For data analysis, the socio-economic and demographic attributes of respondents were considered by percentage, and the developed hypotheses were examined using the Chi-square (x2) statistical test. However, Cramer’s v contingency coefficient test was used to ascertain the relationship’s strength. The findings revealed a highs literacy level. Up to 96.07% of the respondents had one or the other form of education. Despite the high percentage of education acquired among the people, certain traditional values persisted. The percentage of male children’s preference (34.22%) was far higher than the percentage of female children’s preference (4.97%), reflecting the standing value order of keeping the family’s name. The following findings were equally revealed: the existence of an association between educational attainment and family size, the existence of a relationship between religious belief system and attitude to family planning, and the existence of an association between the sex of children and reproductive behavior. However, some recommendations were made to prevent the adverse or negative effects that could be derived from male factors in relation to reproductive behavior and ensure a more sizeable population of ‘carrying capacity’ for sustainable development.