Browsing by Author "Peterson, M.B."
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Item Community and individual sense of trust and psychological distress among the urban poor in Accra, Ghana(PLoS ONE, 2018-09) Kushitor, M.K.; Peterson, M.B.; Asante, P.Y.; Dodoo, N.D.; Boatemaa, S.; Awuah, R.B.; Agyei, F.; Sakyi, L.; Dodoo, F.N.A.; De-Graft Aikins, A.Background Mental health disorders present significant health challenges in populations in sub Saharan Africa especially in deprived urban poor contexts. Some studies have suggested that in collectivistic societies such as most African societies people can draw on social capital to attenuate the effect of community stressors on their mental health. Global studies suggest the effect of social capital on mental disorders such as psychological distress is mixed, and emerging studies on the psychosocial characteristics of collectivistic societies suggest that mistrust and suspicion sometimes deprive people of the benefit of social capital. In this study, we argue that trust which is often measured as a component of social capital has a more direct effect on reducing community stressors in such deprived communities. Methods Data from the Urban Health and Poverty Survey (EDULINK Wave III) survey were used. The survey was conducted in 2013 in three urban poor communities in Accra: Agbogbloshie, James Town and Ussher Town. Psychological distress was measured with a symptomatic wellbeing scale. Participants’ perceptions of their neighbours’ willingness to trust, protect and assist others was used to measure community sense of trust. Participants’ willingness to ask for and receive help from neighbours was used to measure personal sense of trust. Demographic factors were controlled for. The data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate regressions. Results The mean level of psychological distress among the residents was 25.5 (SD 5.5). Personal sense of trust was 8.2 (SD 2.0), and that of community sense of trust was 7.5 (SD 2.8). While community level trust was not significant, personal sense of trust significantly reduced psychological distress (B = -.2016728, t = -2.59, p < 0.010). The other factors associated with psychological distress in this model were perceived economic standing, education and locality of residence. Conclusion This study presents evidence that more trusting individuals are significantly less likely to be psychologically distressed within deprived urban communities in Accra. Positive intra and inter individual level variables such as personal level trust and perceived relative economic standing significantly attenuated the effect of psychological distress in communities with high level neighbourhood disorder in Accra.Item Does financial autonomy imply reproductive and sexual autonomy? Evidence from urban poor women in Accra, Ghana(African Studies, 2019-03) Dodoo, N.D.; Atiglo, D.Y.; Biney, A.A.E.; Alhassan, N.; Peterson, M.B.; Dodoo, F.N.A.This article investigates the association between financial autonomy and three other measures of autonomy – sexual autonomy, perceived reproductive autonomy and actual reproductive autonomy in Ga-Mashie, Accra, Ghana. From anthropological accounts, the financial independence of women from this community, coupled with unique living arrangements, have resulted in them being independent and autonomous. The analytical sample consists of 172 women who were in union at the time of the survey. Binary logistic and ordered logistic regression models ran between financial autonomy and the other measures of autonomy, and controlling for relevant socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the women, reveal that in this context, financial autonomy does not have the perceived effect of increasing autonomy in the three other spheres. Rather, measures that hint at egalitarianism and close marital relationships – namely, marital power, agreement with partners about reproductive issues and marital duration – are more significantly associated with sexual and reproductive autonomy. We conclude that, coupled with schemes to increase the financial autonomy of women, in this context, other measures aimed at improving marital relationships should be explored and encouraged.Item Household food sources and diarrhoea incidence in poor urban communities, Accra Ghana(PLOS, 2021) Larbi, R.T.; Atiglo, D.Y.; Peterson, M.B.; Biney, A.A.E.; Dodoo, N.D.; Dodoo, F.N.Diarrhoeal diseases remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in poor urban communities in the Global South. Studies on food access and safety have however not considered the sources of discrete food categories and their propensity to harbour and transmit diarrhoeal disease pathogens in poor urban settings. We sought to contribute to knowledge on urban food environment and enteric infections by interrogating the sources and categories of common foods and their tendency to transmit diarrhoea in low-income communities in Accra. We modelled the likelihood of diarrhoea transmission through specific food categories sourced from home or out of home after controlling for alternate transmission pathways and barriers. We used structured interviews where households that participated in the study were selected through a multi-stage systematic sampling approach. We utilized data on 506 households from 3 low-income settlements in Accra. These settlements have socio-economic characteristics mimicking typical low-income communities in the Global South. The results showed that the incidence of diarrhoea in a household is explained by type and source of food, source of drinking water, wealth and the presence of children below five years in the household. Rice-based staples which were consumed by 94.5% of respondents in the week preceding the survey had a higher likelihood of transmitting diarrhoeal diseases when consumed out of home than when eaten at home. Sources of hand-served dumpling-type foods categorized as “staple balls” had a nuanced relationship with incidence of diarrhoea. These findings reinforce the need for due diligence in addressing peculiar needs of people in vulnerable conditions of food environment in poor urban settlements in order to reap a co-benefit of reduced incidence of diarrhoea while striving to achieve the global development goal on ending hunger.Item Young Males’ Coerced Sexual Debut in Southeastern Ghana by Female Perpetrators, A Case Study of Agormanya and Juapong(University Of Ghana, 2017-12) Peterson, M.B.The first sexual encounter of every individual and the circumstances under which it occurs plays a significant role in their future behaviour. The literature is replete with studies of the context of girls‘ first sexual encounters, including where they are forced and pressured. Consequently, the adverse implications on girls‘ futures are also widely appreciated. Despite this wealth of information, little effort has been made to understand whether and how similar power dynamics may shape the sexual initiation and subsequent relationships for boys. To understand these nuances, this thesis set out to examine the context of young males‘ sexual debut using data from Agormanya and Juapong in southeastern Ghana. The data for this study came from the three waves of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded longitudinal panel study (LPS), the Gendered Social Context of Adolescent HIV Risk Behaviour. Using a mixed-methods approach integrating in-depth interviews (IDIs) with survey data (LPS), 215 male youth were sampled for analyses. Eighteen (18) in-depth interviews were synthesised qualitatively. The results reveal that early age at first sexual intercourse was a common occurrence among the young male respondents. More than half of these youth had sexual intercourse before reaching age 16. A high prevalence of coercion at sexual debut was recorded, with almost a third of the boys having been either forced or pressured into sexual intercourse. Specifically, of all first sexual intercourse, 18.6% reported being pressured and 9.3% reported being forced. In 42% of these cases, there was evidence that older females had coerced the boys. Vulnerability to coercion at sexual debut was significantly predicted by age at sexual debut, religion, relationship to caregiver, locality of residence, household wealth status, age difference between respondent and first sexual partner, and respondent‘s alcohol consumption at sexual debut. Respondents‘ accounts from the qualitative data suggested that pressure and non-physical force were the most common forms of the coercion experienced at sexual debut. Of the eighteen narratives, there were three rape cases involving physical force. Perpetrators employed diverse coercive tactics on their victims including verbal insistence, baiting with gifts, use of threats, fondling, emotional manipulation, taking advantage when victim was intoxicated with alcohol, etc. Victims felt a range of negative psychosocial effects after their encounter including shame, guilt, fear of STIs, regret and animosity towards females. Victims tended not to report their experiences; the reasons for not reporting included fear of sanctions, or of being branded as deviant. They narrated several coping strategies including avoiding settings they perceived as risky. This study has notable findings and implications. In summary, there is empirical evidence that shows males are coerced at sexual debut and a substantial proportion (42% of coerced cases) are coerced into sex by older females. Sanctions for boys victimised by older women are very strict as a result of constrains posed by norms of masculinity, and unacceptable deviation from gendered sexual scripts. The fact that boys can be physically stimulated or aroused to get a penile erection does not conventionally mean they desire to have sex. The presence of an erection should not discount the absence of consent.