Browsing by Author "Dodoo, F.N.-A."
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Item AIDS-related knowledge and behavior among married Kenyan men: A behavioral paradox?(Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 2001-08) Dodoo, F.N.-A.; Ampofo, A.A.The heterosexual character of HIV/AIDS transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, a context where men are dominant in sexual and reproductive matters, underscores the importance of assessing male behavior in sexual and related health arenas. Despite condom use being the recommended and expected behavioral response to knowledge about the fatal outcome of HIV/AIDS infection, use continues to be extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa. This article explores the relationship between various facets of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and condom use among married Kenyan men. The main finding is one of a significant interaction effect of the recognition that it is impossible to visually identify infected parties and one's perception of self-risk. Although neither is in itself significant, simultaneously recognizing that healthy-looking persons may be infected and perceiving that one is himself not at risk significantly reduces condom use among men. This finding - of an interaction effect - plausibly explains why a perception of self-risk, on its own, does not necessarily translate into safe behavior. After all, those who believe they can identify infected persons may think they are at low risk because they avoid contact with the infected and, in selecting partners they deem free of infection, they may be less inclined to use condoms. This finding has implications for how specific aspects of AIDS-related knowledge are imparted to communities and individuals as well as for our understanding of other health-related behaviors.Item Does education mitigate the adverse impact of bridewealth on women's reproductive autonomy?(Genus, 2014) Dodoo, F.N.-A.; Horne, C.; Biney, A.Recent research finds evidence that bridewealth payment in Africa creates reproductive obligations for women. The present paper explores the effectiveness of female education – an important policy weapon for addressing sexual and reproductive health disadvantages of women in the developing world -- in mitigating bridewealth’s adverse impact on women’s sexual autonomy. We conducted a vignette experiment in which we manipulated a woman’s bridewealth status (bridewealth had not been paid, had been partially paid, or had been completely paid) and her behavior (either in the reproductive or business domain). Our results suggest that female schooling may have more liberalizing effects in some domains than in others, and that efforts to increase women’s reproductive autonomy should consider the normative obligations created by bridewealth payment. The research and policy implications are discussed.Item Lab experiments in demographic fieldwork: Understanding gender dynamics in africa(Demographic Research, 2014-12) Dodoo, F.N.-A.; Horne, C.; Dodoo, N.D.Background: Anthropological literature has long linked bridewealth payments to decision-making about fertility. Recent research underscores the significance of men's preferences regarding women's reproductive behavior, and suggests that bridewealth payments place constraints on women's reproductive autonomy. Yet because survey data on bridewealth are rare, and the collection of new survey data on bridewealth presents serious challenges, this explanation could not be tested. Objective Our objective in this paper is to highlight the potential utility of lab experiments (in particular, vignette experiments) for improving our understanding of gender relations in Africa, using the hypothesized effect of bridewealth on normative constraints on women's reproductive autonomy as an illustration. Methods: We discuss our reasons for turning to lab experiments, and to vignette experiments in particular. We also summarize a series of studies (Horne, Dodoo, and Dodoo 2013; Dodoo, Horne, and Biney 2014) which have implemented our experimental approach. Results: Our experimental evidence shows that bridewealth payments are associated with greater normative constraints on women's reproductive autonomy. We also find that these negative effects of bridewealth are consistent across participant ages, and do not appear to be ameliorated by female schooling. Conclusions: We conclude that lab experiments in general (and vignette experiments in particular) are underutilized methodological tools that may be useful for helping us gain a better understanding of the cultural context of gender relations in Africa; and that demographic research more generally may benefit from taking advantage of the strengths of experimental methods. © 2014 Dodoo, Horne and Dodoo.