Social Network and Social Normative Characteristics of Married Adolescents Participating in a Family Planning Intervention in Rural Niger: Associations With Family Planning Use

Holly Shakya , University of California, San Diego
Sneha Challa, University of California, San Diego
Nicole Carter, University of California, San Diego
Ricardo Vera-Monroy, University of California, San Diego
Jay Silverman, University of California, San Diego

In this study we analyzed the social networks of married adolescents in rural Niger (N=322) as part of a family planning (FP) intervention. Girls were asked to name individuals important in their lives (alters) using three different name generating questions included in a larger survey with questions about reproductive health, social norms, and FP. Each girl was asked specific questions about their alters. One alter per girl was then separately interviewed (N=250), with a subset of questions asked of the primary girl respondent. We found that girls with no alters were more likely to be nulliparous, and that those with the most alters had participated in the intervention. Alters of treatment participants were more likely to have heard of the intervention and more likely to have used FP. Respondents were more likely to have used FP when their sisters or in-laws had, but there was no correlation with friends.

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 Presented in Session 108. Influence of Religiosity, Morality, and Other Social Norms on Contraceptive Use Among Teenagers