Spousal age difference and its effect on contraceptive use among sexually active couples in Ethiopia: evidence from the 2016 Ethiopia demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND: Age difference among spouses can be considered as an indicator of the nature of the marital bond, and influences the couple’s fertility expectations. The age difference is one of the features of the traditional African marriage system. However, the likelihood that women use of contraceptives and spousal age differences is not well studied. Thus, this study was to examine the spousal age difference on contraceptive use. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to examine spousal age differences and its effect on contraceptive use among sexually active couples in Ethiopia. METHODS: The related variables for this study were extracted from Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2016 data. IBM SPSS statistics version 20 software was used for analysis. Logistic regression was conducted to see the association between spousal age difference and contraceptive use. All analyses were adjusted for sample weights. RESULTS: Out of the 7268 selected women for contraceptive usage questions, one fourth (25.3%) of them were between ages 25 and 29 and in almost all 7061 (98.4%) of them there was spousal age differences, 1555 (21.4%) of them were from poor socioeconomic group. Nearly all 7184 (98.8%) of them knew contraceptive method. However, among those sexually active in the last 4 weeks only two in five (41.2%) were using a contraceptive method. Spousal age difference was found to be significant factor and women older than their spouses were (AOR: 1.771, 95%CI: 1.276, 2.459) more likely and women having spouse’s age difference greater than 10 years were 1.2% (AOR: .988, 95%CI: .848, 1.150) less likely to use contraception compared to those age difference is ten or less than years respectively. Also, women who were living in urban areas (AOR: 1.482, 95%CI: 1.161 to 1.890), current working status (AOR: 1.170; 95%CI: 1.033 to 1.325), from richest economic category (AOR: 2.560; 95%CI: 2.000 to 3.278) husband’s education, couples’ fertility preference (AOR: 1.233; 95%CI: 1.070 to 1.420) were contraception use predictors. Similarly, being Muslim by religion (AOR: .579 95%CI: 0.496 to 0.675) and husband based decision for their health care use were (AOR: .847, CI: .729 to .985) less likely to use contraception. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: This study found association between spousal age differences and contraceptive use. Similarly, women’s age, age difference, place of residence, religion, current working status, socioeconomic, husband’s education, living children and current pregnancy, the couples’ fertility preference and who decides on health care use were found to be predictors of contraceptive use. Strengthening strategies for improving women’s educational status, socio-economic and demographic that will help to limit the age differences and improve contraceptive use. Further study, including qualitative is recommended to dig out the why components and better understand this finding.