Abstract
Purpose
Parental influence over early marriage of girls is well-documented in qualitative
research, but little quantitative work in this area has been conducted. This study
assesses the effects of the parent–child relationship in early adolescence (aged 12 years)
on early marriage of girls.
Methods
We analyzed survey data from a multicountry prospective cohort of girls (n = 1,648)
followed over four rounds from age 8 to 19 years (2002–2013), as part of the Young
Lives study in India, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Peru. Multinomial logistic regression
models assessed the effects of parent–child communication and parent–child relationship
quality, as reported when girls were aged 12 years on child and early marriage (married
<16 years, married 16–17 years, married 18–19 years, unmarried). Covariates were wealth,
rural/urban residence, maternal education, parents' value of education, early menarche,
and country.
Results
One in five girls (18.04%) reported marriage before 18 years of age, and 8.1% reported
marrying before 16 years (8.3% and 13.7% in India and Ethiopia). Multinomial regression
found that girls reporting good parent–child communication and high parent–child relationship
quality at age 12 years were significantly less likely to marry before age 16 years
(moderate relationship quality, adjusted relative risk ratio: .23, 95% confidence
interval: .07–.72; high relationship quality, adjusted relative risk ratio: .34, 95%
confidence interval: .11–.99).
Conclusion
Parent–child relationship quality and communication in early adolescence are protective
against very early marriage of girls cross-nationally, although communication may
facilitate marriage soon on completion of school. Primary prevention interventions
targeting child marriage may benefit from components focused on improving the parent–child
relationship.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: July 03, 2019
Accepted:
May 6,
2019
Received:
November 21,
2018
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
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