Kate Merrill, PhD, and colleagues published a paper in PLOS Global Public Health
Kate Merrill, PhD, and colleagues published a paper in PLOS Global Public Health, “The association between violence victimization and subsequent unplanned pregnancy among adolescent girls in Uganda: Do primary schools make a difference?” They analyzed data from the Contexts of Violence in Adolescence Cohort (CoVAC) study in Luwero District, Uganda to see if there are contextual factors that modify the association beteen violence victimization and unplanned pregnancy. Data from 42 schools and 1,449 girls were included in this analyses. They found that violence victimization in early adolescence is strongly associated with subsequent unplanned pregnancy among adolescent girls in Uganda but attending schools with more school or peer connectedness attenuated this link. Interventions should seek to reduce violence against girls to prevent unplanned pregnancy. Interventions promoting positive connections to school may be especially important for violence victims.
Merrill KG, Knight L, Nakuti J, Mirembe A, Allen E, Bhatia A, Parkes J, Naker D, Devries KM. The association between violence victimization and subsequent unplanned pregnancy among adolescent girls in Uganda: Do primary schools make a difference? PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 Jul 31;3(7):e0001141. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001141. PMID: 37523344; PMCID: PMC10389730.