Table 1 Summary Demographic Data
Adolescent Girls (N = 18) | ||
N (%) or Mean (SD, range) | ||
Age | ||
Early adolescent (age 10–14) | 6 (33.3) | |
Late adolescent (age 15–18) | 12 (66.7) | |
Average age | 15.6 (1.8, 13–18) | |
Average years of education | 7.2 (1.4, 5–10) | |
Level of education1 | ||
Some primary | 10 (55.5) | |
Completed primary | 6 (33.3) | |
Some secondary | 2 (11.1) | |
School drop-out | 5 (27.7) | |
Reasons for school drop-out | ||
Pregnancy | 4 (80) | |
Lack of finances | 1 (20) | |
Ever been married2 | 3 (16.6) | |
Average age at marriage | 16.3 (1.5, 15–18) | |
Ever been pregnant3 | 4 (22.2) | |
Unintended pregnancy | 4 (100) | |
Average age at first pregnancy | 15.3 (1.7, 13–17) | |
1.Educational attainment in Malawi (girls age 15–19, as per DHS age cohort, DHS 2015–16): Some primary: 65.4% Completed primary: 5.7% Some secondary: 23% Completed secondary: 2.6% 2. 47% of women (25–49 years) in Malawi were married by age 18 (Malawi DHS 2015–16). 3. 29% of 15–19 year-old girls have begun childbearing in Malawi (DHS 2015–16), an increase compared to 25.6% from 2010 DHS data. | ||
Mothers/Female Guardians of Adolescent Girls (N = 12) | ||
Median (SD, range) | ||
Average age | 50.8 | 46 (15.5, 32–80) |
Average years of education | 3.4 | 3 (3.4, 0–8) |
Average age at marriage | 19.3 | 18 (3.4,15–26) |
Average age at first pregnancy | 19.4 | 18 (3.7,16–28) |
Average number of pregnancies | 7 | 6.5 (3.9, 2–17) |
Average number of living children | 5.1 | 5 (1.8, 2–8) |
Initiation Counselors (N = 10) | ||
N (%) | Median (SD, range) | |
Average age | 59 | 60 (9.2, 45–70) |
Average years of education | 1.8 | 1.5 (1.69, 0–5) |
Religious counselor | 4 (40) | |
Traditional counselor | 1 (10) | |
Traditional and religious counselor | 5 (50) | |
Personal religious affiliation | ||
Christian | 6 (60) | |
Muslim | 3 (30) | |
None | 1 (10) | |
Received formal training as an initiation counselor | 1 (10) | |