THE NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
ISSN: 0331-4111 e-ISSN: 2736-075X
Volume 18, No. 1, June 2020
Pages 87-98
DOI: 10.36108/NJSA/0202/81(0160)
Age Disparity in Marriage and Sexually Transmitted infections among Women in Shomolu Lagos State, Nigeria
Fakunmoju Ayoola1 And Akeju David2
1Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria;
2Department of Sociology, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
Abstract
This study investigates age disparity in marriage and the incidence of sexually transmitted infections among spouses in Shomolu, Lagos State Nigeria.The study adopted a descriptive and cross-sectional design in which a multi-stage sampling method comprising cluster sampling, simple random sampling and the convenience sampling techniques were used to select 400 married women in Shomolu, Lagos State. A structured, close ended questionnaire was used in a researcher administered survey to elicit responses. Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test guided data analysis. Data show a high prevalence of older male-younger female marriage (n=365; 93.5%) and older-women-younger-male marriage (n = 14; 3.7%). Some women (n=48; 13.8%) had ever been infected with STIs such as Gonorrhea (n = 31; 64.5%), syphilis (n = 14; 29.2%) and chlamydia (n = 3; 6.3%). There was a statistically significant association between age disparity (χ2 = 4.266; df = 1; p<0.05), polygamy (χ2 =4.308; df = 1; p<0.05) and incidence of STIs among spouses, particularly women in older women-younger male marriage.The corresponding consequences for increased incidence of STIs among women in older women-younger male relationships should underscore social interventions that might reduce the incidence and consequences of STIs among this population.
Keywords: Age disparity, sexually transmitted infections, older women-younger male marriage, polygamy, Nigeria