Rival Hypotheses

In this sub-section, we test two key rival hypotheses related to how knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors interact with educational attainment and child rape status. The first alternative hypothesis is that girl’s education is not only correlated with high modernity but also with low modernity statements (a few of which represent traditional ethnic affiliation). OM items are scaled with more modern responses represented by higher values and traditional responses scaled numerically lower (based on Inkeles’s research).

Table 5.7 explores whether the scope of modernity statements on binary variables of OM affects girls’ average education level.

Table 5.7 Differences in Girls’ Education Level on Responses to Key Binary OM Items

Girl’s Avg. Education Level

Low Modern Response High Modern Response Difference

M, SE, SD M, SE, SD M, SE, [CI],

Variables [CI], N [CI], N t Value, Cohen’s d

Young Women’s OM:

Public participation 2: 8.13, 0.36, 3.89 9.46, 0.16, 3.98 -1.33, 0.41, [-2.12- -0.53], belong to any orgs [7.41-9.13], 115 [9.13-9.78], 588 -3.28, -0.33

Women’s rights 3: 7.60, 0.41, 4.09 9.50, 0.16, 3.91 -1.91, 0.43, [-2.75- -0.07], marry parent choice [6.78-8.41], 99 [9.19-9.81], 609 -4.47, -0.48

even if not like him

Family planning 1: 8.41, 0.43, 4.03 9.36, 0.16, 3.93 -0.94, 0.43, [-1.79- -0.09], limit # of children [7.56-9.28], 98 [9.05-9.53], 608 -2.13, -0.24

Family planning 2: 7.80, 0.52, 4.65 9.47, 0.15, 3.95 -1.67, 0.46, [-2.58- -0.80], girl can say doesn’t [6.77-8.83], 81 [8.98-9.57], 615 -3.60, -0.43

want to sleep with man

Parent’s OM:

Family planning 4: 9.96, 0.33, 4.09 9.09, 0.20, 3.65 0.87, 0.38, [0.13-2.58- 1.60], use male protection [9.30-10.61], 152 [8.65-9.72], 314 2.31, 0.23

like condoms

Note: CI is confidence interval.

When examining some key differences between high modern responses to low to individual OM items, we note that higher levels of girls’ education (though the difference is by a few grades) is

more often significantly linked with ‘modern’ responses, such as a young woman’s belief to Family Planning 2 being ‘yes, a girl can say she doesn’t want to sleep with a man like her husband/partner.’ Yet intriguingly, some ‘less modern’ OM responses appear to be positively associated to girls’ schooling attainment, for instance parents responding to the traditional/conservative belief of Family Planning 4 that ‘men shouldn’t use protection like condoms.’ In the table below, the dependent variable is listed above while the independent variables are horizontal for easier presentation.

Relatedly, there are a few OM questions that directly measure affiliation with traditional/ethnic culture versus nationalism, including citizenship self-identity and following traditional/religious leadership over governmental agendas. These items are useful in better testing traditional affiliation against the dependent variable.

Table 5.8 Factor of Parental Citizenship Identity on Daughter’s Education

Citizen 4: consider yourself first-and-foremost Liberian or ethnic group/tribe

Education Tribe/Ethnic Group (1) Liberian/nationality (2) Total

Primary/No schooling 5 (.07) 64 (.18) 69 (.15)

Secondary/Tertiary 66 (.93) 290 (.81) 356 (.85)

Total 71 (100.0) 354 (100.0) 468 (100.0)

Note: χ2= 5.30, p=0.02, phi= 0.11. Observed frequency outside parentheses. Percentages in parentheses.

Table 5.8 indicates a traditional response to the citizenship item assessing whether a parent primarily self-identifies with their ‘tribe/ethnic group’ over ‘nationality/being Liberian’ is associated with having a daughter with higher tiers of education. Most participants affiliate with being Liberian in general. Yet parents who self-identify first-and-foremost with their ethnic group/tribe are nearly 3 times more likely to have daughters who have secondary or tertiary education than those who identify as Liberian. In Liberia (unlike some regions in Africa), identifying with one or more of the 16 tribes is common with little to no social stigma. Indigenous

or tribal affiliation tends to be a normal, positive attribute among most citizens (Badu, 2018; Wallace, 2014). The word ‘ethnicity’ is rarely used or understood in colloquial Liberian-English, but it includes the main tribes and other ethnic groups including Americo-Liberian and Lebanese- Liberian. Given the fact the civil wars in country often involved fighting between ethnic affiliations and Liberia has been at peace for nearly 15 years, this is a unique finding in citizenship identity and education which may benefit from future qualitative investigation.

The second rival hypothesis that this analysis examines is whether child sexual abuse is correlated to either lower or higher modern responses. Table 5.9 indicates that parents who hold more conservative beliefs about the future of their nation tend to have daughters with a higher frequency of rapes than parents who are more fatalistic. In fact, Liberian parents who prioritize ‘God’s will’ are 1.8 times more likely to have a daughter who is sexually abused than those believing in ‘people’s hard work’ (phi= 0.18).

Table 5.9 Factor of Parental Efficacy on Daughter’s Child Rape Status

Daughter’s Efficacy 3: what is most important to Liberia’s future

Status Good luck (1) God’s will (2) Gov’t plan (3) Hard work (4) Total

Non-rape 5 (.50) 66 (.62) 108 (.58) 133 (.79) 312 (.66)

Rape 5 (.50) 40 (.38) 79 (.42) 36 (.21) 160 (.34)

Total 10 (100.0) 106 (100.0) 187 (100.0) 169 (100.0) 472 (100.0)

Note: χ2 = 19.63, p=0.00, Cramer’s V= 0.20, gamma=-0.28 (ss). Observed frequency outside

parentheses. Percentages in parentheses.

Similarly, Table 5.10 factors in the effect of whether parents believe in female voice in sexual relationships, including whether “a girl can say no to sleeping with a man (like husband/partner).” Parents who disagree with this statement tend to be 1.4 times more likely to have daughters who are rape survivors than parents who support a woman being able to say no.

Some particular proactive knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs focusing on gender equity may support improved human security for daughters.

Table 5.10 Factor of Parental Family Planning on Daughter’s Child Rape Status

Family Planning 1: can female say no to sleeping with man

Rape Status No, she can’t (1) Yes, she can (2) Total

Non-rape 52 (.55) 255 (.68) 307 (.66)

Rape 43 (.45) 118 (.32) 161 (.44)

Total 95 (100.0) 373 (100.0) 468 (100.0)

Note: χ2= 6.23, p=0.01, phi= 0.12. Observed frequency outside parentheses. Percentages in parentheses.

Some KAB variables that impact a girl’s chances of not being raped tend to relate to positive views towards parental efficacy and gender-equitable values towards family planning/women’s rights. The data supports association of some OM measures with lower rates of sexual assault. Yet at least one high-modern statement on OM items is conversely related to ‘higher’ rape odds, for instance, the variable asking whether it is good for “a man to use contraception like a condom.” Parents who agree with this statement have daughters nearly twice as likely to be rape victims than not (phi=0.13).

The OM items presented above indicate that there are very few unique factors that challenge the main hypotheses presented about modernity linked to human development indicators of female education and sexual abuse. Overall, we can tentatively conclude the hypotheses on OM stand as presented. While there may be a few significant items of traditional views (in this case self-identifying with one’s ethnic group/tribe over being Liberian) associated with girl’s education, higher schooling levels still tend to mainly be correlated to higher modern culture (both aggregated and disaggregated). Moreover, there are OM items on both spectrums of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that are positively linked to lower rape rates. Again, these examples testing the hypothesis that child sexual abuse is not correlated to high modern culture are few; but nor is it