Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Women, Poverty, Access To Health Care, And The Perils Of Symbolic Reform, Mary Anne Bobinski, Phyllis Griffin Epps

Faculty Articles

This article looks at health care through gendered eyes. We sift though available data on access to health care, health status, and health treatments to determine whether men and women experience health care differently in the United States. While we do not doubt that overt gender-based discrimination occasionally occurs in health care, this article focuses on the importance of unintended consequences and unconscious bias. We also explore the impact of symbolism about women's roles on the process of health care reform. The results have important implications for policy makers, advocates, and health care providers.

The United States has a large …

Responding To Cairo: Case Studies Of Changing Practice In Reproductive Health And Family Planning, Nicole Haberland, Diana Measham

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo codified views long advocated by women’s health activists the world over. The conference marked a turning point in the history of the population field—one that brought reproductive health and women’s rights to the forefront of the international population agenda. The 22 case studies in this book document changes in practice in reproductive health and family planning programs within 18 countries. The case studies demonstrate the important strides that were made in the years following the conference and point to many challenges that remain. The abolition or modification of population policies …

Socialization To Gender Roles And Marriage Among Egyptian Adolescents, Barbara Mensch, Barbara L. Ibrahim, Susan M. Lee, Omaima El-Gibaly

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Using nationally representative survey data, this paper explores gender role socialization and attitudes toward marriage among unmarried Egyptian adolescents aged 16-19 years. We examine the daily activities of adolescent boys and girls, views about age at marriage and desirable qualities in a spouse, and various indicators of gender role attitudes including opinions about whether wives should defer to husbands, about sharing household decisionmaking, and about responsibility for domestic tasks. Our findings reflect strong gender differentiation: girls have much less free time than boys, are much less mobile, are much less likely to participate in paid work, and have heavier domestic …

Gender Differences In The Schooling Experiences Of Adolescents In Low-Income Countries: The Case Of Kenya, Barbara Mensch, Cynthia B. Lloyd

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Little research on education in developing countries has focused on adolescent issues at the same time, despite the fact that a growing proportion of young people are spending some time in school during the phase of their lives between puberty and marriage, there is little research on schooling as a key dimension of the adolescent experience. This paper examines the school environment in Kenya and the potential ways it can help or hinder adolescents. We focus on gender differences with a view toward illuminating some of the factors that may present particular obstacles or opportunities for girls. The paper begins …

Correlates And Consequences Of Early Initiation Of Sexual Intercourse, Ann L. Coker, Donna L. Richter, Robert F. Valois, Robert E. Mckeown, Carol Z. Garrison, Murray L. Vincent

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

This cross-sectional analysis of the 1991 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey explored factors associated with an early age at first sexual intercourse. Almost 18% of White males, 49% of Black males, 5% of White females and 12% of Black females were sexually active before age 13. Carrying a weapon to school, fighting, and early (< age 13) experimentation with cigarettes and alcohol were associated with early initiation of sexual activity for all four race and gender groupings. Those initiating sexual activity early had greater numbers of partners but were 50% less likely to use condoms regularly and were two-seven times more likely to have been pregnant or caused a pregnancy. Females who initiated sexual activity early were more likely to have had a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Interventions to postpone sexual activity need to be tailored to the ethnic and gender differences observed in these analyses. Interventions must begin before age 13 and should be comprehensive school-based efforts.