Family type, domestic violence and under-five mortality in Nigeria

Background: Nigeria still showcases unacceptably high under-five mortality despite all efforts to reduce the menace. Investigating the significant predictors of this occurrence is paramount.

Objective: To examine the interplay between family setting, domestic violence and under-five death in Nigeria.

Methods: Cross-sectional secondary data, the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, (NDHS) women dataset was utilized. Subset of 26,997 ever married and ever had childbirth experience respondents were extracted from the nationally representative women dataset. Dependent and Independent variables were recoded to suit the statistical analysis for the study.

Results: The study revealed that 33.7% of the respondents were in polygyny family setting; one-quarter of the ever married women reported ever experiencing one form of domestic violence or the other. The results of the logistic regressions indicate that family type and domestic violence were significant predictors of under-five children mortality in Nigeria.

Conclusion: The study concludes that women who belong to polygyny family setting and who ever experienced sexual domestic violence are highly susceptible to experience under-five children mortality than their counterparts. The study recommends that strategies and policies aimed at improving child survival should strengthen women empowerment initiatives, discourage multiple wives and campaign against domestic violence in Nigeria.

Keywords: Polygyny, monogamous, domestic violence, Nigerians

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