CSDE Alumna Michelle O’Brien Publishes Study on Violent Conflict and Reproductive Health

Posted: 11/2/2020 (CSDE Research)

CSDE Alumna Michelle O’Brien recently published an article in Population Research and Policy Review examining the consequences of violent conflict on reproductive health. Using Tajik Living Standards Survey data, she leverages the uneven geographical scope of conflict events during the civil war to pinpoint women’s exposure to violence, measured by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. She finds that for women who had reached menarche during or after the civil war, exposure to conflict events increases the likelihood of ever experiencing miscarriage, but not abortion. Including a spatial lag operator reveals that there were also spillover effects for abortion, in which women who were in a broader region of uncertainty were more likely to induce an abortion. These findings highlight the role of institutional changes in affecting pregnancy loss during and after civil war. To read the article click here.