Bangladesh 1993-1994 Demographic and Health ... - Measure DHS

CHAPTER 9RESULTS OF THE HUSBANDS SURVEY9.1 Background Characteristics ofHusbandsIn the BDHS, 3,284 husbands of womenrespondents were also interviewed to obtaininformation about their background and demographiccharacteristics, family planning knowledgeand behavior, and fertility preferences.The main reason for the Husbands Survey wasto assess the extent to which men's attitudesmight affect family planning use levels and tocompare some of the data as reported by bothhusbands and wives.While ever-married women age 10-49in every household selected in the BDHS wereeligible for the individual interview, every secondhousehold was designated as also fallinginto the husbands sample, and in these households,the husbands of women who were interviewedwere considered eligible. The distributionof the husbands who were interviewed inthe BDHS survey is presented in Table 9.1 byselected background characteristics. The husbandsare older, on average, and better educatedthan currently married women in general(see Table 2.8). For example, 57 percent ofcurrently married women have no education,compared to only 42 percent of husbands. Similarly,16 percent of married women have hadTable 9.1 Background characteristics of husbandsPercent distlibution of husbands by selected backgroundcharacteristics, Bangladesh 1993-94Number of husbandsBackground Weighted Uncharacteristicpercent Weighted weightedAge25-29 14.1 463 46830-34 19.7 648 64915-1920-240.65.0191651916635-39 17.2 564 57540-44 12.3 405 41045-49 I0.0 329 32850-54 8.5 278 27255-59 7.3 240 23060+ 5.3 173 167ResidenceUrbanRurall 1.588.537929055002784DivisionBarisalChittagong6.023.7197778334588Dhaka 30.4 999 949Khulna 13.8 452 456Rajshahi 26.1 858 957EducationNo education 42.2 1385 1344Primary incomplete 23.6 775 779Primary completeSecondary/Higher7.327.0239885232929All husbands 100.0 3284 3284some secondary education, compared to 27 percent of husbands. The distribution of husbands by urban-ruralresidence and by division is similar to that of women.More precise information on the differences in ages between husbands and wives is presented inTable 9.2. In 99 percent of couples, the husband is older than his wife. In 44 percent of couples, husbandsare at least 10 years older than their wives. The median difference in ages of spouses is 9 years, with littledifference by wife's age)The number of couples differs slightly from the number of husbands due to weighting factors (husbands have theirown independent weight, while couples are given the woman's weight).121