Adolescent desire for more children in Kenya

Abstract

The study was aimed at investigating the influence of socio-cultural, socioeconomic and demographic factors on adolescent desire for more children in Kenya. These factors are assumed to potentially influence the behaviour of adolescents (15-19) and the emerging adults (20-24) towards desire for additional children. The data the study utilized was drawn from the 2003 KDHS. The methods of data analysis used in the study were mainly quantitative statistical techniques: descriptive and multivariate analysis. The findings of the study give an insight into the key determinants of adolescent desire for additional number of children. Most women are likely to desire more children if they reside in rural areas. With a few exce'p~ions, desire for more children is low with higher levels of education of adolescents. More women reported a higher desire for more children if they wanted their last child then than those who either wanted later or wanted no more. Generally, there was a marked variation in the desire for more children across regional boundaries. These findings will help in the formulation of sound strategies to reduce adverse consequences of early childbearing among the adolescents.