Rural-Urban Women’s Decision-Making Autonomy on Contraceptive Use in Indonesia

This study examinedthe relationship between women’s decision-making autonomy and contraceptive usein Indonesia, using data from the 2014 Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) on 9,153 married women aged 15–49. Ordered logistic regressionwas used to assess the relationship between women’s participation in four household decisionsand their decision-making autonomy. These decisions include food purchases, household purchases, freedom to visit family and relatives, and contraceptive use. The findings indicate that women in urban areas have higher levels of decision-making autonomy thanthose in rural areas. The autonomy index generally increases with age, butrural women consistently show lower autonomy levels across all age groups compared to their urban counterparts. Apositive relationship between decision-making autonomy and contraceptive usewas observed in both rural and urban settings. The marginal effect of autonomy on contraceptive use is more pronounced for short-acting reversible contraception (SARC) than for long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Behavioral economic factors, such as distorted perceptions of excessive risk information about LARC, upfront costs, potential discomfort, and traditional social norms, influence contraceptive attitudes and behaviors.These findings underscorethe importance of addressing gendered power dynamics and societal norms that restrict women’s autonomy