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Demography of Single Parenthood in Africa: Patterns, Determinants and Consequences

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Family Demography and Post-2015 Development Agenda in Africa

Abstract

An increase in single parenting, especially among women, has become a global concern as existing evidence continues to show that single motherhood is associated with higher risks of poverty, reproduction of poverty and other negative outcomes that affect the well-being of single mothers and their children. Using pooled data obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys in Africa, this study examined single parenthood in Africa, with a specific focus on its prevalence, determinants and consequences. The results show that over 22% of women aged 20–49 years in Africa were unmarried mothers. The significant factors associated with never-married parenthood among women in the region include current age, place of residence, highest level of education, occupation, household wealth quintile, birth order as firstborn child, experience of intimate partner violence by respondent’s mother, access to the media, community level of poverty and community level of female education. Notably, most of the determinants were similar across the subregions in their direction of association. Among all categories of single mothers in the region, the never married were the most vulnerable in all eight indicators of multidimensional deprivation. In conclusion, unmarried motherhood is obviously a common nuptiality pattern in contemporary Africa. With its diverse implications for well-being, family-oriented policies, programmes and studies have become more imperative.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Demography and Population Studies Programme, Schools of Public Health and Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Lorretta Favour Chizomam Ntoimo

  2. Department of Demography and Social Statistics, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria

    Lorretta Favour Chizomam Ntoimo

  3. Demography and Population Studies Programme, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Nyasha Mutanda

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  1. Lorretta Favour Chizomam Ntoimo
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  2. Nyasha Mutanda
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Demography and Population Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Clifford O. Odimegwu

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Ntoimo, L.F.C., Mutanda, N. (2020). Demography of Single Parenthood in Africa: Patterns, Determinants and Consequences. In: Odimegwu, C. (eds) Family Demography and Post-2015 Development Agenda in Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14887-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14887-4_8

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