Polygyny and child survival in Nigeria: Age-dependent effects

Abstract

Mortality risks under age five are estimated using data from the 1990 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey for children in monogamous and polygynous families. Integrating existing theories on polygyny's relationship with infant and child mortality and some demographic concepts, the study shows that polygyny has different effects on infant and child mortality at different ages. The results indicate that polygyny does not have a significant effect on neonatal mortality (age less than one month). In contrast to the results of previous research, polygyny is significantly associated with lower child mortality during the post-neonatal period (1-11 months), but not during childhood (12-59 months). The study found socio-economic factors to be important confounders of the relationship between polygyny and mortality during the neonatal and post-neonatal periods. The protective effect of polygyny during the post-neonatal period suggests the need to further investigate circumstances that may favour post-neonatal child survival in polygynous families including availability of childcare.Polygyny 1 was the predominant form of marriage in pre-industrial societies (Murdock 1967;Strassmann 1997), and evidence from sub-Saharan Africa suggests that polygyny remains an important sociocultural institution in this region. In spite of the influences of modernization, the prevalence rate for polygyny is still very high in sub-Saharan Africa, and there is evidence that many monogamous men have a strong desire for more wives (Aryee 1978;Speizer 1995;Stokes 1995;Ezeh 1997). However, recent national surveys in sub-Saharan Africa suggest the level of polygyny is declining (Timaeus and Reynar 1998).Research on the implications of polygyny for demographic outcomes has been biased toward the relationship of polygyny with reproductive behaviour. The lack of emphasis on the relationship between polygyny and mortality is rather surprising, given the high mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa (United Nations 1988; Population Reference Bureau 1996), and the relationship between reproductive behaviour and mortality (Alam 1995;Hobcraft, McDonald and Rutstein 1985;Rutstein 2000). The limited research that previously examined polygyny and child mor-

Polygyny and Child Growth: Evidence From Twenty-Six African Countries

“…In addition, Rhonda Gillett-Netting and Amber Perry (2005) present evidence that boys' growth prospects are more adversely affected than girls' in polygynous households of the matrilineal Gwembe Tonga of Zambia. Another strand of the literature has established that polygyny is positively correlated with child mortality, with some studies using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data similar to those in this paper (Foster K. Amey 2002;Festus A. Ukwuani, Gretchen T. Cornwell, and Chirayath M. Suchindran 2002;D. Omariba, Walter Rasugu, and Michael H. Boyle 2007;Stephen Obeng Gyimah 2009;James Fenske 2012).…”

Polygynous marriage and child health in sub-Saharan Africa: What is the evidence for harm?

“…Amankwaa, Eberstein, and Schmertmann (2001) report that in a Ghanaian DHS, polygyny is associated with relatively high neonatal survival in rural areas. Ukwuani, Cornwell, and Suchindran (2002) report that in a Nigerian DHS, polygyny is positively associated with child survival during the post-neonatal period (1-11 months), although not during childhood (12-59 months). In a Kenyan DHS, Gage (1997) reports no difference in anthropometric measures of nutritional status between children of polygynous and monogamously married women.…”

Polygynous Contexts, Family Structure, and Infant Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…In light of evidence that polygyny does not affect mortality uniformly across the childhood period (Gyimah 2009; Ukwuani, Cornwell, and Suchindran 2002), we focus on mortality during the first year of life. The outcome variable in our analyses is the hazard of mortality before age one.…”

“… 1 One study using the 1990 Nigerian DHS shows that while polygyny is not associated with survival during the neonatal and childhood periods, it is positively associated with child survival during the post-neonatal period (Ukwuani, Cornwell, and Suchindran 2002). …”