Determinants and Manifestations of Women’s Autonomy in Bolivia and Nicaragua

Tina Huntsman, Brigham Young University
Dallan F. Flake, Brigham Young University
Tim B. Heaton, Brigham Young University

An ideological revolution in thinking about women’s status has raised questions concerning determinants of autonomy and their implications on policy formation. This study seeks to identify objective indicators of autonomy, and examine their relationship with women’s subjective experiences of autonomy. Analyses are based on the 2000 Bolivia Family Interaction and Children’s Well-Being (FICW) Survey (n=865) and the 1997/1998 Nicaragua Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) (n=514). By utilizing structural equation modeling, we identify two major domains in which autonomy is manifest: decision-making and personal autonomy in Bolivia, and family and public autonomy in Nicaragua. This study shows that each factor has some influence on autonomy, with education and socioeconomic status being the most important. Factor loadings suggest that autonomy is multidimensional because each factor is significant. We conclude that policies designed to change educational, economic, and familial characteristics of women will have only modest impacts on women’s overall sense of autonomy.