Page 56 - IJPS-11-2

International Journal of
Population Studies Single mother spatial distribution in Nigeria

Hausa and Igbo women might not be surprising because possible to quantify the local variation in the effect of each
Hausa women are generally found in the northern fringe of variable.
Nigeria, where single motherhood has a lower prevalence;
additionally, the majority of the Nigerian Igbo populace Acknowledgments
adheres to Catholicism, which is known for a more The authors appreciate The DHS Program for granting
conservative stance on family structure (Adewoyin et al., access to the data analyzed in the study.
2020). Onyishi et al. (2012) showed that Igbo couples often
find satisfaction in their relationship and thus stay together Funding
when they are blessed with children.
None.
Finally, the higher odds for single motherhood among
young women could be the result of having children out Conflict of interest
of wedlock due to unprotected premarital sexual activities The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
earlier argued to be common among young men and
women in the country (Okah et al., 2023). Such activities Author contributions
often lead to teenage pregnancy and single motherhood Conceptualization: Ezra Gayawan
because the parties involved are oftentimes not ready for Formal analysis: All authors
marriage. For older women, single motherhood could be Investigation: All authors
propelled by widowhood, divorce, and separation. In parts Methodology: Faith Eshofonie, Ezra Gayawan
of the country that have experienced protracted conflict Writing–original draft: All authors
and social unrest, such as the Boko Haram insurgency, Writing–review & editing: All authors
many women would have lost their partners and would
have thus been left to care for their children by themselves. Ethics approval and consent to participate
5. Conclusions The data analyzed were collected as secondary data from
The DHS Program on request and so the researchers
This study closely examined the impacts of different did not acquire any ethical approval or consent from the
demographic and socioeconomic variables on the participants.
spatial distribution of single motherhood in Nigeria.
State-specific clustering was identified using a Bayesian Consent for publication
modeling technique. The findings show that in Nigeria,
single motherhood is significantly associated with poverty, Not applicable
education level, age, and state of residency, with a notable Availability of data
north-south divide, where states in the southern part of the
country have a higher prevalence. The maps generated in Data analyzed in this study are publicly available and can
this study can help stakeholders and policymakers design be obtained on request from The DHS Program available at
different intervention programs to address discriminatory https://dhsprogram.com
attitudes against single mothers and develop measures to
reduce the prevalence of single motherhood in Nigeria. References
Adebayo, S.B., & Gayawan, E. (2022). Exploring spatial variations,
The study has certain limitations. It remains impossible trend and effect of exposure to media as an enhancer to
to make a causal inference from the findings due to the uptake of modern family planning methods: Evidence from
cross-sectional nature of the data set used in this study. 2003 to 2018 Nigeria demographic health survey. Spatial
The spatial units are the states of Nigeria, but each state Demography, 10:229-254.
is made up of several local government areas, constituting https://doi.org/10.1007/s40980-021-00080-z
the third administrative level of the country. Subsequent
analysis could consider this administrative level depending Adewoyin, Y., Awelewa, O.F., Uzoma, I.E., & Anazonwu, N.P.
on data availability. Furthermore, the study included the (2020). Prevalence pattern and sociodemographic correlates
categorical variables as linear terms, implying that their of single motherhood in Nigeria. Sexuality Research and
effects are constant across space. This assumption might Social Policy, 19:1-13.
not hold true in a culturally diverse setting such as Nigeria, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-020-00523-0
where cultural and religious values strongly influence Alaba, O.O., Olaomi, J.O., & Olubusoye, O.E. (2015). Spatial
people’s behavior. Consequently, future research could pattern and determinants of unmet need of family planning
consider a varying coefficient model so that it would be in Nigeria. South Africa Family Practice, 57:306-312.

Volume 11 Issue 2 (2025) 50 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.4313