Voice and Agency: Decision-Making Autonomy Among Adolescent Mothers In Nigeria

Background and Purpose:

Democratic participation extends beyond formal political engagement and includes everyday decision‑making within households that shapes access to health care, education, and economic resources. For adolescent mothers, household decision-making autonomy may be especially consequential, as decisions made during adolescence can have long-term implications for schooling continuity, health-seeking behaviour, and economic security for both mothers and their children. In Nigeria—home to one of the largest adolescent populations in Sub‑Saharan Africa—young mothers often occupy structurally marginalized positions within households, where age, gender, and location may constrain voice and agency. While prior research demonstrates that women’s decision‑making autonomy varies across the life course, adolescent mothers are frequently grouped with older women, limiting understanding of how everyday democratic participation operates among this population. To address this knowledge gap, this study aimed to examine age‑based differences in household decision‑making autonomy and to identify the individual, household, and contextual factors associated with autonomy among adolescent mothers in Nigeria.

Methods:

This study conducted secondary data analysis with the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) (2023-2024), a nationally representative survey employing a stratified two‑stage cluster sampling design. We first compared household decision‑making autonomy across maternal age groups to situate adolescent mothers within the broader maternal population. Decision‑making autonomy was assessed using standardized DHS indicators capturing participation in decisions related to personal health care and control over earnings. Survey‑weighted row percentages and Pearson design‑based tests were used to assess age differences.

We then restricted analyses to adolescent mothers aged 15–19 years (n = 990) and estimated survey‑weighted multivariable logistic regression models guided by empowerment theory and the socioecological framework. Explanatory variables were theoretically organized across individual‑level (education, marital status), household‑level (partner’s education, household wealth), and contextual‑level factors (place and region of residence). Statistical significance was evaluated at p < .05.

Results:

Household decision‑making autonomy varied significantly by maternal age (p < .001). Among adolescent mothers, 43.4% reported participation in household decision‑making, compared with 50.5% of mothers aged 20–24 and 66.8% of mothers aged 25 years and older. Conversely, 56.6% of adolescent mothers reported no decision‑making autonomy, compared with 33.2% among older mothers.

Within multivariable analyses restricted to adolescent mothers, contextual factors emerged as the strongest predictors of autonomy. Compared with adolescent mothers residing in the North-West, those living in the South-South had a significantly higher likelihood of participating in household decisions (RRR = 3.47, p = .016). Rural residence was associated with significantly reduced decision‑making autonomy (RRR = 0.50, p = .009). Individual education, partner education, and household wealth were not statistically significant after adjustment (all p > .05).

Conclusion and Implications:

Findings demonstrate that adolescent mothers experience substantially lower household decision‑making autonomy than older mothers. Among adolescent mothers, geographic and rural inequalities strongly shape voice and agency within households. Addressing these disparities will require strategies that expand adolescents’ opportunities to participate meaningfully in household decisions, particularly in rural and underserved settings.