Effects of Parent-Child Relationships on Child Marriage of Girls in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam: Evidence From a Prospective Cohort

Nandita Bhan; Leslie Gautsch; Lotus McDougal; Charlotte Lapsansky; Rafael Obregon; Anita Raj

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.05.002

Effects of Parent-Child Relationships on Child Marriage of Girls in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam: Evidence From a Prospective Cohort

J Adolesc Health. 2019 Oct;65(4):498-506. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.05.002. Epub 2019 Jul 3.

Authors

Nandita Bhan¹, Leslie Gautsch², Lotus McDougal³, Charlotte Lapsansky⁴, Rafael Obregon⁴, Anita Raj³

Affiliations

¹ Center on Gender Equity and Health, Department of Medicine, and Division of Social Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California. Electronic address: nabhan@ucsd.edu.
² Department of Education Studies, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
³ Center on Gender Equity and Health, Department of Medicine, and Division of Social Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
⁴ Communication for Development, Programme Division, UNICEF, New York, New York.

PMID: 31279722
DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.05.002

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: Adolescents; Child marriage; Parent-child communication; Parental determinants.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Age Factors
Child
Communication*
Educational Status
Ethiopia
Female
Humans
Marriage / ethnology*
Parent-Child Relations*
Peru
Prospective Studies
Rural Population*
Vietnam

Grants and funding

R01 MH095598/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States