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UNINTENDED PREGNANCY AND WOMEN’S PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN INDONESIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2004

KAREN HARDEE
Affiliation:
The POLICY Project, The Futures Group, Washington DC
ELIZABETH EGGLESTON
Affiliation:
RTI International, Washington DC
EMELITA L. WONG
Affiliation:
Family Health International, North Carolina, USA
IRWANTO
Affiliation:
Centre for Societal Development Studies, Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, Indonesia
TERENCE H. HULL
Affiliation:
Demography and Sociology Program, Australian National University

Abstract

Few studies have examined the impact of unintended pregnancy on women in developing countries. This paper examines the impact of unintended pregnancy on Indonesian women’s psychological well-being. It is hypothesized that experiencing unintended pregnancy is associated with lower psychological well-being and that use of family planning and small family size are associated with higher levels of psychological well-being. Data are drawn from a 1996 survey of 796 women aged 15–49 from two Indonesian provinces, Lampung and South Sumatra. This article focuses on the 71% of women (n=562) who answered all 41 survey items related to psychological well-being. In cluster analysis, women grouped into three clusters, differentiated by their scores on four scales of well-being established through factor analysis (general negative feelings, satisfaction with relationships, satisfaction with economic/family/personal conditions, and negative feelings regarding domestic issues). Women in cluster 3 were characterized mainly by their high level of psychological well-being. Women in cluster 1 had the lowest level of well-being, and women in cluster 2 were in the middle. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess jointly the effect of unintended pregnancy, contraceptive use, number of children and other factors on a woman’s level of psychological well-being. Unintended pregnancy was associated with lower levels of psychological well-being and contraceptive use was associated with higher levels of psychological well-being, while number of children was not associated with level of well-being. Women who had experienced an unintended pregnancy were less likely to be in the high psychosocial well-being cluster versus both the medium and low clusters. In addition, women using contraception were more likely to be classified in the high than in the low or medium well-being clusters.

Type
Regular Articles
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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