Browsing by Author "Zewoldi, Yacob"

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    Fertility Behaviour of Elites and Their Perception of the Population Problem in Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 1991-06) Zewoldi, Yacob; Chaudhury, R. (PhD)
    The rapid population growth in Ethiopia (3 percent per year) in recent years poses serious difficulties in the efforts to achieve economic and social development. To solve this problem, there is a need for pertinent information on knowledge, practice and attitudes of various segments of the population with respect to fertility behaviour and family planning. There is also a need to understand their perception and views regarding the JXlPulation growth at the national level, their opinions on the interaction of JXlPulation and environmental deterioration, and their attitude towards the introduction of population and family life education. Such information can indicate focus areas for a population JXllicy and also contribute to its success. This is an exploratory study which investigated the family planning knowledge, practice and attitudes of Ethiopian elites in Addis Ababa, their perception of the JXlpulation growth and environment, and their attitude towards the introduction of JXlPulation and family life education in the high school curricula of the country. The elite play an imJXlrtant role, in spite of their small numbers, in moulding public opinion on every aspect of life including reproductive life and they act as a role-model for other groups. The elite sub-groups covered in the study were artists, high school teachers, lawyers, medical doctors, Orthodox-Christian and Muslim religious leaders, senior government officials, university lecturers and a women's group. The thesis discusses the target JXlpulation, the survey methodology and problems encountered in the field. Descriptive analysis was used to discuss knowledge, practice and attitude towards family planning, and the elites' perception of the population problem in the country. Multivariate analysis was applied for examining differentials in mean age at marriage of women and the mean achieved and desired fertility levels among the elite sub-groups. The analysis followed two approaches. The first one was the investigation of differentials in the attitudes towards and practices of family planning and other JXlpulation related issues by socio-economic and demographic background characteristics. The second approach investigated these differentials within and between elite sub-groups.