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Table 1 Variables used for analysis

From: Fertility preferences among couples in Nigeria: a cross sectional study

Study Variables

Operational Definitions and Coding

Fertility desire

0 = Equal desire, 1 = Husbands desire more and 2 = Wives desire more

Type of marriage

1 = Monogamy and 2 = Polygyny

Region

According to respective regions of respondents as provided by NDHS, 1 = North Central, 2 = North East, 3 = North West, 4 = South South, 5 = South East and 6 = South West

Age difference

Self-reported ages of couples coded as 1 = same age (less than 3 years younger or older), 2 = husbands older (husbands more than 3 years older) and 3 = wives older (wives more than 3 years older)

Difference in Education

Self-reported number of years spent in school by couples coded as 1 = same education (for couples who spent the same number of years in school), 2 = husbands more educated (husbands spent more years in schools compared to wives) and 3 = wives more educated (wives spent more years in schools compared to husbands)

Wealth Index

According to household index, wealth is classified into 5 categories by NDHS, 1 = Poorest, 2 = Poorer, 3 = Middle, 4 = Richer and 5 = Richest

Residence

According to NDHS classification, 1 = urban and 2 = Rural

Religion

1 = Christianity, 2 = Islam and 3 = Traditional religionists and others

Work Status of Couples

1 = Both are working and 0 = Others (it involved couples who indicated that either were working or that both were not working)

Children Ever Born

1 = 0, 2 = 1–2, 3 = 3–4 and 4 = 5+

Use of Contraceptive

1 = Using and 2 = Not using