Maria Castiglioni

Changing family formation in Nepal: Marriage cohabitation and first sexual intercourse.

CONTEXT In Nepal, marriage occurs at a relatively young age and arranged weddings are widespread. However, recent changes in the family formation process and the timing of first sexual intercourse suggest that a transformation may be under way. METHODS Data on marriage, cohabitation and first sexual intercourse from the 2001 Nepalese Demographic and Health Survey were used to describe the family formation process. The sequence of these events and the intervals between them were explored for currently married men and women. Hazard models were used to identify factors associated with behavioral changes over time. RESULTS The average age at marriage among women married before age 20 increased from 13.7 years for those born in 1952-1956 to 15.6 years for those born in 1977-1981, while remaining relatively stable for men married before age 25 (17.3 years for the 1942-1946 birth cohort to 17.7 for the 1972-1976 birth cohort). After individual and couple characteristics were controlled for, younger age at interview was associated with greater odds of simultaneous marriage and cohabitation for both genders (odds ratios, 1.3-1.7). Younger age at interview was also associated with premarital sex among men--those aged 39 or younger had significantly higher risks than older men of having had premarital sex, with odds ratios rising from 1.6 among those aged 35-39 to 1.8 among those aged 15-24. CONCLUSIONS It is important not only to promote education as a means of delaying marriage and childbearing, but also to implement programs and services that prevent reproductive health problems for young married couples.

Measuring equity in utilization of emergency obstetric care at Wolisso Hospital in Oromiya, Ethiopia: a cross sectional study.

IntroductionImproving equity in access to services for the treatment of complications that arise during pregnancy and childbirth, namely Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC), is fundamental if maternal and neonatal mortality are to be reduced. Consequently, there is a growing need to monitor equity in access to EmOC. The objective of this study was to develop a simple questionnaire to measure equity in utilization of EmOC at Wolisso Hospital, Ethiopia and compare the wealth status of EmOC users with women in the general population.MethodsWomen in the Ethiopia 2005 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) constituted our reference population. We cross-tabulated DHS wealth variables against wealth quintiles. Five variables that differentiated well across quintiles were selected to create a questionnaire that was administered to women at discharge from the maternity from January to August 2010. This was used to identify inequities in utilization of EmOC by comparison with the reference population.Results760 women were surveyed. An a posteriori comparison of these 2010 data to the 2011 DHS dataset, indicated that women using EmOC were wealthier and more likely to be urban dwellers. On a scale from 0 (poorest) to 15 (wealthiest), 31% of women in the 2011 DHS sample scored less than 1 compared with 0.7% in the study population. 70% of women accessing EmOC belonged to the richest quintile with only 4% belonging to the poorest two quintiles. Transportation costs seem to play an important role.ConclusionsWe found inequity in utilization of EmOC in favour of the wealthiest. Assessing and monitoring equitable utilization of maternity services is feasible using this simple tool.

Planned and Unplanned Births and Conceptions in Italy, 1970-1995

Using FFS data on births andofficial data on abortions, focus is firstgiven to trends in planned and unplannedpregnancies during 1970–1995, comparing Italywith the USA and France. The next step is topinpoint groups where unplanned events are morecommon. Finally, the relationship betweenunplanned births and changes in contraceptivebehaviour is examined.The planned fertility decline distinguishesItaly from other Western countries. Unplannedbirths and abortions have also declinedconsiderably during the last twenty years.However, some caution is urged before it may beassumed that Italians are the masters of theirown fertility as, during the first half of1990s, 37% of conceptions were unplanned (atthe moment of the event), reaching 45% amongunder 20 and over 35 years old women.

Spread of Cohabitation and Proximity between Kin in Contemporary Italy

In countries of Mediterranean Europe, characterized by strong family ties, close residential proximity between kin facilitates frequent exchanges of free mutual aid. This article focuses on the challenges to proximity posed by the spread of cohabitation in Italy. We consider an extensive definition of kin networks, including siblings and, for women in a couple, the parents and siblings of the partner. We confirm that couples who cohabit or who have cohabited, and those who after having cohabited went on to marry, less frequently went to live near their kin. However, some caution should be taken before arguing that the particular density of kin networks in Italy is destined to disappear.

A Marriage-Cohort Analysis of Legal Separations in Italy

This short paper presents the trends in legal separation in Italy by marriage cohort and duration, and discusses future prospects. To catch a glimpse of the future of legal marital dissolution in Italy, the authors: (i) project the probabilities of legal separation by duration; (ii) perform a territorial analysis of the twenty Italian regions, suggesting the possible explanations for territorial differences; (iii) compare Italy and Spain (where divorce became legal in 1981), and examine the situations in other western countries, where marital dissolutions became widespread earlier (United States, United Kingdom, and France). Many clues suggest that legal separation will becoming increasingly frequent over the coming years for all marriage cohorts.

Indicators Proposed for the Evaluation of Social Capital in Local Action Groups

This chapter provides a detailed description of the different indicators developed as part of the method for quantifying and qualifying the endowment of social capital in Local Actions Groups of the EU LEADER initiative. These indicators refer to dimensions of: (1) structural social capital (context, network actors, horizontal structure of the network, transparency and accountability, reputational power); (2) normative and cognitive social capital (trust and reciprocity among actors, trust in institutions, quality of the network, quality of participation, shared values, conflict); and (3) related aspects of governance (decision-making processes, efficiency and effectiveness, organisational culture and capacity, vertical structure).

Social Capital and the LEADER Approach: A Statistical Method for the Evaluation of Local Action Groups

This chapter describes the methodology and statistical foundations adopted for quantifying and qualifying the endowment of social capital in Local Actions Groups of the EU LEADER initiative. Specifically, the chapter presents the proposed evaluation method, including the criteria and techniques used to create, normalise and aggregate indicators into indexes of structural and cognitive-normative social capital and rural governance. Consequently, it specifies the data collection system, the selection of case study areas and the sampling design adopted in the survey carried out across the selected case study areas.