Characteristics of married and unmarried-sexually active women aged 15–19 years in Mwanza, Tanzania*
| Characteristic | Married, N=201 | Unmarried, N=744 | P value |
| N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Sociodemographic factors | |||
| Age (years) | |||
| 15 | 2 (1.0) | 62 (8.3) | <0.0001 |
| 16 | 4 (2.0) | 82 (11.0) | |
| 17 | 24 (11.9) | 161 (21.6) | |
| 18 | 69 (34.3) | 199 (26.8) | |
| 19 | 102 (50.8) | 240 (32.3) | |
| Age (years)† | 19 (18,19) | 18 (17–19) | <0.0001 |
| Religion | |||
| Catholic | 61 (30.4) | 309 (41.5) | 0.04 |
| Protestant/other Christian | 99 (49.3) | 320 (43.0) | |
| Muslim | 38 (18.9) | 112 (15.1) | |
| No religion | 3 (1.5) | 3 (0.40) | |
| Highest level of education achieved | |||
| No education | 15 (7.5) | 21 (2.8) | <0.0001 |
| Primary education | 131 (65.2) | 320 (43.0) | |
| Secondary education | 55 (27.4) | 392 (52.7) | |
| University education | 0 | 11 (1.5) | |
| Currently in educational training programme | |||
| Yes | 2 (1.0) | 152 (20.4) | <0.0001 |
| No | 199 (99.0) | 592 (79.6) | |
| Type of area of residence | |||
| Semiurban | 85 (42.3) | 290 (39.0) | 0.43 |
| Urban | 116 (57.7) | 454 (61.0) | |
| Socioeconomic level | |||
| Lowest quintile | 38 (22.1) | 87 (15.5) | 0.0002 |
| Second lowest quintile | 55 (32.0) | 131 (23.4) | |
| Middle quintile | 31 (18.0) | 82 (14.6) | |
| Second highest quintile | 36 (20.9) | 125 (22.3) | |
| Highest quintile | 12 (7.0) | 135 (24.1) | |
| Exposure to information about contraception | |||
| Heard about contraception in the media in last 12 months | |||
| Yes | 59 (29.4) | 309 (41.5) | <0.0001 |
| No | 142 (70.7) | 435 (58.5) | |
| Heard about contraception from health sector sources in last 12 months | |||
| Yes | 122 (60.7) | 213 (28.6) | <0.0001 |
| No | 79 (39.3) | 531 (71.4) | |
| Heard about contraception from interpersonal sources in last 12 months | |||
| Yes | 100 (49.8) | 487 (65.5) | 0.0001 |
| No | 101 (50.3) | 257 (34.5) | |
| Knows a place where or person from whom she would feel comfortable accessing contraception | |||
| Yes | 113 (61.1) | 400 (53.8) | 0.14 |
| No | 72 (38.9) | 343 (46.2) | |
| Social networks | |||
| Perceives that partner supports her using contraception | |||
| Yes | 116 (62.7) | 430 (60.2) | 0.04 |
| No | 45 (24.3) | 140 (19.6) | |
| Do not know | 24 (13.0) | 144 (20.2) | |
| Perceives that mother supports her using contraception | |||
| Yes | 89 (50.9) | 299 (42.4) | 0.03 |
| No | 53 (30.3) | 190 (26.9) | |
| Do not know | 33 (18.9) | 217 (30.7) | |
| Perceives that friends supports her using contraception | |||
| Yes | 85 (46.2) | 430 (58.3) | 0.02 |
| No | 38 (20.7) | 100 (13.6) | |
| Do not know | 61 (33.2) | 207 (28.1) | |
| Individual knowledge, attitudes and behaviours | |||
| Knowledge about contraception score‡ 0–1 | 21 (10.5) | 37 (5.0) | 0.02 |
| 2–3 | 67 (33.3) | 243 (32.7) | |
| 4–5 | 113 (56.2) | 464 (62.4) | |
| Misconceptions about contraception score§ | |||
| 0–1 | 83 (41.3) | 258 (34.7) | |
| 2–3 | 75 (37.3) | 375 (50.4) | |
| 4 | 43 (21.4) | 111 (14.9) | 0.04 |
| Self-efficacy for contraception score ¶ | |||
| 0–1 | 15 (8.1) | 57 (7.7) | |
| 2–3 | 72 (38.9) | 265 (35.7) | |
| 4 | 98 (53.0) | 421 (56.7) | 0.67 |
| Timing of most recent sexual activity | |||
| Within last week | 86 (42.8) | 48 (6.5) | |
| Within last month | 52 (25.9) | 207 (27.8) | |
| Within last year | 63 (31.3) | 489 (65.7) | <0.0001 |
| No of living children | |||
| No children | 97 (48.3) | 638 (85.8) | |
| One child or more | 104 (51.7) | 106 (14.3) | <0.0001 |
*The figures refers to N (%). Numbers and percentages may not match exactly because the analysis used sampling weights to account for the sampling design.
†Median (IQR).
‡Scored based on the responses to the following five questions: (1) preventing unintended pregnancies is a benefit of contraception, (2) preventing abortions is a benefit of contraception, (3) some contraceptive methods reduce sexually transmitted infections/HIV, (4) modern contraception can help with child spacing and (5) using modern contraception can allow a woman to complete her education, take up better economic opportunities and fulfil her potential.
§Scored based on the responses to the following four questions: (1) use of a long-acting reversible contraceptive can make adolescent women permanently infertile, (2) changes to normal menstrual bleeding patterns, which is caused by some contraceptives, are harmful to health, (3) modern contraceptives can make adolescent women permanently fat, and adolescent women who use family planning/birth spacing may become promiscuous.
¶Scored based on the responses to the following four questions: (1) felt able to start a conversation with her partner about contraception, (2) felt able to use a method of contraception even if her partner did not want her to, (3) felt able to obtain information on contraception services and products if she needed to and (4) felt able to obtain a contraceptive method if she decided to use one.