Union breakdown in West African cities: The cases of Ouagadougou and Lomé

Abstract

BACKGROUNDMarriage remains a strong institution in Africa, but union breakdown may be frequent, particularly in urban areas. However, this issue is still little studied, especially in West Africa. OBJECTIVEI examine the trends and factors associated with divorce and separation that lead to union breakdown in two West African cities: Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Lomé in Togo. METHODSAnalyses are based on marital history data from the Economic Activities, Resourcesharing and Management of Spending in Urban Households survey, collected in 2012 in Ouagadougou and Lomé. We use the Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox proportional hazards model for descriptive and multivariate analysis, respectively. RESULTSThe probability of union breakdown is higher in Lomé than in Ouagadougou. The celebration of the union and having a son are associated with lower risk of divorce, while infertility or low fertility and education are associated with higher risk of divorce, for men and women in both cities. Socialization in a big town is also associated with higher risk of divorce, especially for women. CONCLUSIONThe results indicate that even if urban areas represent the ideal of modernization and social change in Africa, family and society still play an important role in union stability. CONTRIBUTIONThe consideration of both men and women in the analysis is an important contribution to the study of union breakdown in Africa.

Variations in First Union Dissolution Patterns among the Lebou, Peuhl, Sereer, Toucouleur, and Wolof in Senegal

“…Childlessness within the first marriage if found to have strong impact on union stability [3,25,26,33,[38][39][40][41][42][43]. This result is consistent with almost all of the previous studies and is in agreement with the purpose of union formation everywhere, especially in SSA.…”

“…Education was also found with significant influence on union instability. In some cases, the relationship between union dissolution and female education is found to be negative [1,38,42]. Under other circumstances its influence appears to be nonlinear, with the lowest union dissolution rates observed among uneducated women and among the highest educational groups [3,26,43,48].…”

The Untold Story of 50 Years of Adolescent Fertility in West Africa: A Cohort Perspective on the Quantum, Timing, and Spacing of Adolescent Childbearing

“…In West Africa, the magnitude of the higher risk is particularly pronounced (Molitoris et al 2019). Finally, persistent adverse economic, education, and health disadvantages for the mother can accompany problems of forced marriage, partnership instability, domestic violence, and psychiatric disorders and can affect children through low birthweight, poor health, developmental challenges, and interrupted schooling (Ahmed et al 2013;Clark and Brauner-Otto 2015;Clark et al 2006;Delprato et al 2015;Gage 2013;Kodzi and Kravdal 2013;Kravdal 2018;Marmot 2015;Sabbe et al 2013;Sedgh et al 2015;Thiombiano 2017;Yount et al 2016). This study not only contributes to our understanding of fertility in West Africa, it also uncovers hidden aspects of adolescent fertility that are important for better targeting policy interventions.…”

Determinants of Marital Instability in Ibadan, Nigeria

“…Based on the study's objective, the dependent variable is a multinomial variable measured in three single-spouse marital categories: divorce, separation, and widowhood. The independent variables were chosen based on theoretical grounds or from the empirical literature [4,16,38]. These variables include age at marriage, current age, educational qualification, gender, tribal and religious composition of marriage, number of children, and length of marriage.…”

“…The validity of this proposition on marital outcomes has been tested several times with much support from the evidence [33][34][35][36][37]. However, Thiombiano [38] reported a significantly reduced probability of marriage failure among Ouagadougou women who have partners of a different tribe.…”