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Matrilineal Family Ties and Marital Dissolution in Ghana

Bibliographic Data

ID2346804
AuthorsBaffour K Takyi (The University of Akron, Ohio), Stephen Obeng Gyimah (Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada,, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume28
Issue5
Pages682-705
Publication date2007-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Family Issues (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0192-513X • E-ISSN: 1552-5481
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0192513x070280050401
OpenAlexW2138644935
LanguageEN
Citations received54
References cited50

Although previous work has attributed the instability of African marriages to the diffusion of Western norms and values in the region, fewer attempts have been made to empirically assess how Africa's internal institutional structures, such as extended kinship ties, impact marital outcomes. Guided by rational choice and exchange theories, we argue that the strong bonds that exist among matrilineal family members in particular, rather than within the conjugal unit, may be important to understanding the dynamics of marital processes in the region, and particularly divorce processes. We test our hypothesis with data from the 1988, 1993, 1998, and 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys. Consistent with our hypothesis, the results indicate a significantly higher risk of divorce among matrilineal than nonmatrilineal women. The matrilineal effect persisted even after we controlled for sociocultural and demographic characteristics

Demographic economics · Developmental psychology · Economics · Kinship · Marital status · Population · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Global Maternal and Child Health · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Unique citing works54
Citations per year3
Citation span2008 - 2026 (19)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 45
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