Factors Affecting Kenyan Adolescents' Childbearing Desires

Andrew Muriuki, University of Missouri at Columbia
Marjorie Sable, University of Missouri at Columbia

With 45% of the Kenyan population being under 15 years of age, it is important to explore the fertility expectations for older adolescents and young adults in order to plan for their emerging needs. Using data from the 2003 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey we investigated factors associated with wanting more children among female respondents 15 to 24 years old. We examined these associations for three groups: among all respondents, among respondents who were married, and among respondents who reported that they had had sex. We found that HIV status was not significantly associated with wanting another child in any of the analyses. Contraceptive use was highly significant for all models but only positively associated with wanting another child for married respondents. Secondary education was only significant for married respondents wanting fewer children. Urban residency was associated with wanting another child only if they were married or already had sex.