Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Empowering Adolescent Girls In Rural Bangladesh: Kishori Abhijan, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In 2001, UNICEF initiated a pilot intervention to test whether livelihoods opportunities could ameliorate early marriage and other adverse outcomes for girls in rural Bangladesh. Kishori Abhijan (“Adolescent Girls’ Adventure”) aimed to lower school dropout rates, increase girls’ independent economic activity, and raise the age at which girls marry. Life-skills training consisted of enhancing self-esteem and leadership skills and providing education related to gender roles and discrimination, health and nutrition, and legislation and legal rights, particularly early marriage and girls’ and women’s rights. Livelihoods training included vocational skills. As noted in Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief …

Delaying Early Marriage Among Disadvantaged Rural Girls In Amhara, Ethiopia, Through Social Support, Education, And Community Awareness, Eunice N. Muthengi, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Ethiopia has extremely high rates of child marriage and an HIV epidemic that disproportionately affects females. In the rural Amhara region, 50 percent of girls are married by age 15 and 80 percent are married by age 18. Researchers conducted a survey of more than 1,800 adolescents in the Amhara Region. Based on the findings, in 2004 the Amhara Regional Bureau of Youth and Sports and the Population Council created the Berhane Hewan (“Light for Eve”) project. Berhane Hewan’s goal is to establish effective mechanisms to protect girls at risk of early marriage and to support adolescent girls who are …

Girls' Schooling In Developing Countries: Highlights From Population Council Research, Cynthia B. Lloyd

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

As more girls from developing countries attend school into their teens, the importance of schooling experiences and school quality for adolescent sexual and reproductive health, as well as for girls’ successful transitions to adult roles, is clear. The Population Council’s research on schooling seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the patterns and trends in schooling for girls and more particularly the relationship between experiences in school, school quality, and various adolescent outcomes. Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 24 summarizes highlights from this research program under five subtopics: the demography of schooling; school attendance and …

Expanding Safe Spaces, Financial Education, And Savings For Adolescent Girls In Kenya, Karen Austrian

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Almost 1 billion people around the globe live in urban informal settlements, or “slums.” In Kenya, 60 percent of Nairobi’s nearly 3 million inhabitants live in slum areas characterized by high levels of poverty and HIV. Kibera is the largest of these slums. Life is particularly perilous for adolescent girls in slums, as they make their transition to adulthood. Girls are several times more likely than their male age-mates to become infected with HIV, and sexual initiation for girls often occurs in the context of violence and coercion. Poverty is a driving force behind these and other vulnerabilities. As described …

Costs Of Marriage—Marriage Transactions In The Developing World, Sajeda Amin, Ashish Bajracharya

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Over the past two decades the Population Council has amassed a wealth of information on the causes and correlates of child marriage and documented its adverse effects on the well-being of women and girls. In many parts of the developing world, understanding child marriage is central to designing programs that promote healthy transitions to adulthood. Council research also underscores the importance of rituals and practices of marriage exchange around the globe and documents the considerable variation in these practices. Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 35 synthesizes some broad themes that have emerged from research on …

Conception D'Un Programme Centré Sur Les Filles : Boîte À Outils Pour L'Elaboration, Le Renforcement Et L'Expansion De Programmes Destinés Aux Adolescentes, Karen Austrian, Dennitah Ghati

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

“Conception d’un programme centré sur les filles: Boîte à outils pour l’elaboration, le renforcement et l’expansion de programmes destinés aux adolescentes” est un ensemble d’outils et de directives pour renforcer les programmes destinés aux adolescentes dans les zones urbaines du Kenya. Basée sur les discussions d’une réunion de 2010 du Kenya Adolescent Girls’ Brain Trust, organisée par le Centre Binti Pamoja et le Population Council, la boîte à outils s’adresse à toute personne désireuse de travailler avec des adolescentes de 10 à 24 ans. Elle peut être utile au concepteur ou à l’exécutant d’un programme, à la personne chargée de …

La Estrategia Del Population Council: Promoción De Transiciones A La Vida Adulta Sanas, Seguras Y Productivas, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Este informe sobre la “Promoción de transiciones a la edad adulta: Sanas, seguras y productivas” proporciona una visión general del enfoque del Population Council sobre los adolescentes que comenzó a principios de la década de 1990. El enfoque se ha visto acompañado por un compromiso de trasladar el campo de la investigación y los programas de adolescentes de uno que a menudo se enfoca en la sexualidad, la salud reproductiva y el comportamiento a uno que contemple los problemas sociales y económicos más amplios que constituyen la base de la salud y el bienestar de los adolescentes. En 1998, con …

La Démarche Du Population Council: Promouvoir La Santé, La Sécurité Et La Productivité Transitions Vers L'Âge Adulte, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Ce document “Promouvoir des transitions vers l’âge adulte saines, securisées et productives” donne un aperçu de l’attention du Population Council sur les adolescents qui a commencé au début des années 1990. L'accent a été accompagné d'un engagement à ouvrir le champ des études et des programmes consacrés aux adolescents en élargissant le simple domaine de la sexualité, de la santé génésique et des comportements aux grandes questions sociales et économiques qui sous-tendent la santé et le bien-être des adolescents. En 1998, avec la publication de The Uncharted Passage—un examen de référence de la situation des adolescentes dans les pays en …

Répondre Aux Besoins Des Jeunes Filles À Risque De Mariage Précoce Et Des Adolescentes Mariées Au Burkina Faso, Sarah Engebretsen, Gisele Kaboré

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Le mariage précoce se produit fréquemment dans les zones rurales du Burkina Faso et limite la capacité des filles à terminer leur scolarité et à réaliser leur potentiel. Une fois mariées, les filles ont tendance à être moins libres de leurs mouvements et ont des réseaux sociaux limités par rapport aux filles célibataires, et les filles mariées devraient commencer à avoir des enfants presque immédiatement. Compte tenu de leur jeune âge, les adolescentes enceintes peuvent courent également risque de souffrir de complications pendant l'accouchement. Malgré le nombre important de jeunes filles mariées et des filles à risque de mariage précoce …

Ampliación De Programas Para Adolescentes Vulnerables: Experiencias, Entendimientos Y Evidencia, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

El deseo de la comunidad de desarrollo internacional por aliviar la pobreza y mejorar los resultados de la salud presenta una oportunidad extraordinaria para transformar la vida de la gente joven, particularmente de las niñas. Ciclos de analfabetismo, escasas posibilidades de trabajo y aislamiento social pueden frenarse, pero requerirán de esfuerzos coordinados para alcanzar a una gran cantidad de niñas adolescentes vulnerables con programas sólidos construídos en base a los valores. El hecho de ampliar los programas piloto efectivos será crítico para lograr estos objetivos. A pesar de que hay un cuerpo de búsqueda en expansión alrededor de intervenciones de …

Sexual And Reproductive Health Of Young People In India: A Review Of Policies, Laws And Programmes, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, K.G. Santhya

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper synthesizes the key policies, laws, and programs in India that focus on or have implications for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people. It includes a summary of what is known about the sexual and reproductive health situation of young people, an assessment of the salient features of current policies, laws, and programs, and a discussion of the extent to which these policies, laws, and programs have responded to the sexual and reproductive health needs of young women and men. The review by the Population Council clearly shows that there is considerable recognition of the …

Biruh Tesfa ('Bright Future') Program Provides Domestic Workers, Orphans And Migrants In Urban Ethiopia With Social Support, Hiv Education And Skills, Annabel Erulkar, Herma Gebru, Gebeyehu Mekonnen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief provides details about the Biruh Tesfa (“Bright Future”) program in Ethiopia established by the former Ethiopia Ministry of Youth and Sports (currently Ministry of Women, Children and Youth) with technical assistance from the Population Council. Biruh Tesfa aims to address the social isolation of adolescent girls by building their social capital and participation and giving them access to basic literacy, life skills, and HIV and reproductive health information. This evaluation of Biruh Tesfa shows early success and the program, which was initially pilot-tested in the low-income area of Mercato in Addis Ababa, was ultimately expanded to four urban …

Factors Of Career Mobility In Egypt By Gender, May Gadallah

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council working paper describes the opportunity cost of women’s participation in the labor market in Egypt, a critical determinant of not only participating in the labor market, but also of continuing in it. The paper observes career mobility and job-to-job turnover by gender; it also looks at career development over a period of time and analyzes the impact of different factors on career development. The importance of the results increases with the privatization trend in the Egyptian economy. Findings show that 90 percent of women work in the public sector where career paths are similar regardless of gender; …

Le Travail Des Femmes Dans Le Secteur Agricole: Entre Précarité Et Empowerment—Cas De Trois Régions En Egypte, Au Maroc Et En Tunisie, Zhour Bouzidi, Saker El Nour, Wided Moumen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Despite a remarkable decline in the agricultural labor force in general, the number of women employed in the agricultural sector is growing substantially, particularly as a result of the intensification of agricultural activity. This Population Council working paper focuses on the working conditions of women in the agricultural sector based on the analysis of three case studies in three countries: the West of Delta in Egypt, the coastal zone of Gharb in Morocco, and the Nadhour region in Tunisia. The report analyzes to what extent agricultural work could be a means of precariousness or empowerment for women workers. Results show …

Mind The Conflict: Mindfulness And The (Israeli-Jewish) Conflict Mindset. Dis-Covering Psychological Barriers To Peace, Shiri Barr

Capstone Collection

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is regarded as an intractable conflict – a lengthy, violent and seemingly insolvable conflict. Social-psychologists assert that individuals and societies entrenched in intractable conflicts develop a problematic psychological infrastructure, which is here termed the Conflict Mindset. Made up of certain attitudes, beliefs, and emotional inclinations, the Conflict Mindset serves as a double-sword: on the one hand it helps the society endure the difficulties of the ongoing conflict; on the other hand it feeds an ever escalating cycle of violence, by promoting narrow and rigid perspectives that block possibilities for change. The Conflict Mindset is only part of …

Parent-Child Communication On Sexual And Reproductive Health Matters: Perspectives Of Mothers And Fathers Of Youth In India, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, K.G. Santhya

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report from the Population Council study “Youth in India: Situation and Needs” presents data from in-depth interviews with mothers and fathers of youth in six states of India regarding communication patterns. The content of parent-child—and parent-daughter—communication is typically intended to ensure that young people conform to prevailing social, gender, and relationship norms. This study, one of the first from India to probe parental perspectives, suggests that parents are indeed concerned about their children’s transition into sexual life, but are constrained by traditional norms, lack of information, and limited skills from communicating with and providing them the supportive environment needed …

Female Wages In The Egyptian Textiles And Clothing Industry: Low Pay Or Discrimination?, Amirah El-Haddad

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council working paper analyzes data collected from a survey of firms and workers in the textiles and clothing sector in Egypt. These data allow for the explanation of the sector’s gender wage gap by poorer endowments, and relegation of women to low-paying firms and occupations; and by within-firm and within-occupation differential in returns. There is a pay gap in this sector, with men receiving an hourly wage 29 percent higher than that of women, partly because women are concentrated in the lower paid occupations, with a clear glass ceiling in effect, and outright discrimination occurs. The largest of …

When Girls' Lives Matter: Ending Forced And Early Marriage In Cameroon, Sajeda Amin, Andrea Lynch

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The program presented in this case study, the Association for the Struggle Against Violence Against Women (ALVF, from its name in French) in Cameroon, provides counseling, language and literacy training, economic support, and empowerment activities for girls who have fled (or been thrown out of) early or forced marriages to help them overcome their adversities. ALVF also seeks to bring about broader social change by highlighting in the public sphere—as well as among parents and husbands—the plight of girls who were married early and/or by force. Hence, ALVF’s prevention strategy is based on a broad understanding of the perceptions, expectations, …

Funding The Fundamentals: A Peace First Teacher’S Recommendations For Increased Quality Sixth Grade Curriculum To Effectively Engage And Educate An Increasing Quantity Of Students., Pamela Gonzales

Capstone Collection

In the United States, the top 20% of the population owns 85% of the wealth. This leaves only 15% of the wealth for the rest of the population. This clear disparity of wealth, in combination with the common practice of racial segregation (created by 300 years of inequality) has direct correlations to violence in United States cities. Boston is one of these cities. Impoverished minority neighborhoods are struggling because they exist in a society that is essentially ignoring them. There are fewer opportunities in poor minority neighborhoods, particularly for young people. As a result, a cycle of violence has continued …

Developing Intercultural Sensitivity In Children And Adults: A Trainer’S Experiences In The Field, Laura E. Schairbaum

Capstone Collection

Intercultural training is a broad field which seeks to enhance participants’ cultural self-awareness, understanding of “Others”, and skills related to effective communication across difference. These are essential competencies for individuals, organizations, and societies to have in our increasingly diverse nation and globalized world. This capstone paper is a training course-linked capstone (CLC) related to Training of Trainers: Ethics and Intercultural Training Design. My Reflective Practice Phase (RPP) training design and facilitation experiences are presented and analyzed using experiential learning and intercultural training frameworks. My previous training experiences, motivation, and philosophical approach to intercultural and social justice-based training are also …

Perceptions Of Access To Education: Inclusion And Exclusion For Non-Karen Refugees In Mae La Camp, Matthew Gross

Capstone Collection

Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border is the largest of the seven “Karen” refugee camps in the area and is considered the center of education for refugees. Continued fighting inside Burma between the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the ethnic armies as well as the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis in 2008 have greatly altered the demographics in Mae La refugee camp. Perceptions of Access to Education: Inclusion and Exclusion for Non-Karen Refugees in Mae La Camp attempts to understand, through qualitative data, how non-Karen speaking refugees perceive their access to education. Is education in Mae …

Transforming Lives And Communities: A Case Study On Building Partnerships In The Philippines Through Appreciative Inquiry, Rizalina L. Ababa

Capstone Collection

The growing number of poor in the Philippines is alarming. Neither the national government nor any individual organization acting alone has been able to alleviate the rising percentage of poverty. With this prevalent need in the country, networks, alliances and partnerships among several organizations, including faith-based organizations, have been established to help respond to the needs of those living in poverty.

OM Philippines–Cebu Ministries, a faith-based Christian organization was started in 2001. It has worked specifically among the poor through children’s programs in partnership with local Protestant churches. Like many NGOs, OM Philippines has been exploring new strategies to expand …

Beyond Heard: Young Adults In North Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo, Their Resilience And Role In Peacebuilding., Cynthia Tarter

Capstone Collection

People in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have faced decades of direct and structural impacts from conflict and war. Of the many key actors in the peace process of DR Congo, the voice and capacity of young adults is generally left unheard. This study examines the role of Congolese young adults in peacebuilding in conjunction with identifying contextual protective factors of resilience. The role foreign aid workers have in development and conflict interventions is an included backdrop of focus.

Primary research data was gathered from rural communities in North Kivu from July 2010 – February 2011, and …

The Campaign For Bias-Free Policing In Vermont: One State’S Resistance To The Localization Of Federal Immigration Agency, Amanda L. Park

Capstone Collection

There are roughly 1,500 immigrants from Mexico and Central America currently working on farms in Vermont, helping to sustain approximately half of all milk produced in the state. But the lack of adequate visa-to-work options leaves these individuals without proper documentation to be in the US. As such, they are vulnerable to exploitation by their employers, susceptible to harassment from the communities in which they live, and under constant threat of deportation by federal immigration agents. Now, the US Department of Homeland Security—in charge of domestic defense and immigration—is attempting to use local and state law enforcement officers in the …

Innovative Financing Through Pay-For-Performance For Providers To Improve Quality Of Care In Bangladesh: Transforming Research Into Action, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Laila Rahman, Ismat Ara Hena

Reproductive Health

To improve access to, and use of, facility-based obstetric and newborn care services in rural areas, the Government of Bangladesh is implementing two innovative performance-based financing programs: demand-side financing (DSF) and pay-for-performance (P4P). Both programs have contributed to the increase in institutional deliveries, yet not enough women receive the recommended care during pregnancy and delivery. DSF and P4P are implemented in parallel and have their own merits and limitations. As described in this brief, a two-day workshop was organized in 2011 in Dhaka to identify the lessons learned and limitations of P4P and DSF models and scopes for cross-learning. Both …

Survey Of Young People In Egypt (Sype) 2009—Final Report [Arabic], Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document contains the Final Report for SYPE 2009. Responding to a dearth of data on youth in Egypt, the Population Council conducted a comprehensive situation analysis of Egyptian adolescents and young people: the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) 2009, which covered a nationally representative sample of 15,029 young people aged 10-29. SYPE collected data on the five key life transitions of education, work, family formation; health; and civic and political participation. SYPE follows up an earlier survey conducted by the Population Council in 1997, The Adolescence and Social Change in Egypt (ASCE) survey. SYPE updates the results …

Society In Crisis: A Critical Perspective On Health Care And Distribution Ofhealth Status In The United States, Curtis D. Hosier

Dissertations

This research examines U. S. health status both internationally and domestically utilizing indicators infant mortality, life expectancy at birth, and maternal mortality data as comparison. This research compares U.S. health status data with OECD country data to ascertain U.S. rankings internationally. Also, this research examines the distribution of health status within and between sex, class, and racial groups in the U.S. to further the discussion that health status is unequally distributed in the United States. This research found the U.S. ranked in the lowest quartile in each of the health status variables examined internationally. This research found inequalities exist in …

Exploring The Well-Being Of Foster Children Of Parents With Substance Abuse Problems In Family Dependency Treatment Courts, Barbara M. Howes

Dissertations

The aim of this three-paper format dissertation is to explore how the well-being of foster children of parents with substance abuse problems is defined and promoted through Family Dependency Treatment Courts (FDTC) within the context of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). The benefit to the author of the three-paper method is the task of submitting the findings of the study for publication is eased as the dissertation contains three stand-alone articles. A drawback for the reader of the three paper method is that there is redundancy in reading the same sections in each paper. The reader is encouraged …

Life Experiences That Contributed To The Independence And Success In The Lives Of Foster Care Alumni, Dawn Elizabeth Montgomery

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the factors which helped these foster care alumni to persevere and to succeed. The intent was to provide a framework for equipping youth in foster care more effectively by building on their strengths and the resources available in foster care. The study’s method incorporated the interviewing of ten ethnically diverse individuals who had experienced the foster care system. Based on their insights and the themes which emerged, the WARRIORS Model was created. This acronym represents the key themes derived from the interviews: Wounded, Advocacy, Reality of Belonging, Resources, Inspired to Succeed, …

Maternal Defense: Breastfeeding Heightens Aggression By Reducing Stress, Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Colin Holbrook, Sarah M. Coyne, E. Thomas Lawson

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Mothers in numerous species exhibit heightened aggression in defense of their young. This shift typically coincides with the duration of lactation in nonhuman mammals, which suggests that human mothers may display similarly accentuated aggressiveness while breast feeding. Here we report the first behavioral evidence for heightened aggression in lactating humans. Breast-feeding mothers inflicted louder and longer punitive sound bursts on unduly aggressive confederates than did formula-feeding mothers or women who had never been pregnant. Maternal aggression in other mammals is thought to be facilitated by the buffering effect of lactation on stress responses. Consistent with the animal literature, our results …