Marital Relationship Quality and Contraceptive Use in Kumasi Ghana

Carie J. Muntifering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Easmon Otupiri, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Researchers in the field of sexual and reproductive health have collected a wealth of information on attitudes and behaviors while overlooking the emotional aspects of what it means to individuals and couples to engage in sexual relationships. A limited amount of research, mainly in developed countries, has examined the association between relationship quality and contraceptive use. We carry out confirmatory factor analysis to validate four scales measuring different dimensions of relationship quality (commitment, trust, satisfaction and communication). Using a factor score for each scale, we examine the association between relationship quality and contraceptive use with multinomial logistic regression. Findings show that certain dimensions of relationship quality are positively associated with use of traditional methods of family planning. No consistent pattern was found between dimensions of relationship quality and modern contraceptive use. A better understanding of how relationship quality influences contraceptive use will help inform programmatic efforts in family planning.