Marriage and union formation, families and households

Using data on non-partnered individuals aged 22-35 from eight European countries (N = 8,443), we investigate expected consequences of moving in with a partner within the next three years. Results confirmed that Swedes had the highest probability of expecting improvements in their financial situation, whereas respondents from Belgium, France, and Russia had the lowest probability of anticipating decreasing career opportunities. Further, Romanians and Swedes were most likely to expect less personal freedom, whereas Hungarian and French respondents were most likely to expect increasing life satisfaction. Across all countries, women were significantly more likely than men to expect an improved financial situation. This gender gap was biggest in Bulgaria, Romania and Russia and smallest in Sweden, France and Belgium. Also, Bulgarian men were more likely to anticipate a loss in employment opportunities and personal freedom than women. In Austria, men were more likely to expect increasing life satisfaction than women.

The objective of this work is to study the factors that affect the decision to enter into cohabitation or marriage in the first union among Uruguayan women, in the framework of a significant increase in consensual unions in Uruguay during the last two decades. This work aims at contributing to a better understanding of the determining factors that underlie the choice of one or other type of union among women who enter into first unions, and in particular to understand the interaction of structural and value-related factors. For this purpose, we have analyzed the form of entry into first unions using proportional risk models and taking into consideration three groups of variables: structural, background, and variables related to values and attitudes. We expect to find differences in the choice of union type and, in particular, of the time of transitioning into marriage, based on social strata and values.

Divorce has rapidly increased since the 1970s in Japan. Existing research suggests that the expansion of socio-economic disparities with deteriorating macro-economic performance is a major cause of the rising divorce rate. However, not only socio-economic factors but also family background characteristics may play an important role, particularly in a ‘strong family’ country such as Japan. This paper investigates the effects of intergenerational family ties on the risk of divorce, using retrospective life history data from a nationally representative survey in Japan. In the past decade, much has been written and discussed about the associations between strong family ties and low fertility, however, little attention has been paid to the relationships between strong family ties and divorce. The results of discrete-time logistic regression models suggest that patrilocal co-residence and residential proximity as well as the presence of young children substantially reduce the risk of divorce. The fact that intergenerational co-residence can stabilize marriage denotes that weakening intergenerational ties or ‘weak family’ may entail a higher risk of marital dissolution, given the long-term decline in macro-economic performance. The results would provide valuable insights into the links between strong family and demographic behavior.

Cohabiting unions and marriages have coexisted in Latin America since the times of colonization. Traditionally, the former was most common among population groups characterized by lower socioeconomic status. However, since the 1990s, consensual unions have increased considerably in almost all countries in the region, suggesting its spreading across traditional social barriers. Centered on the idea that cohabiting unions are not a one-dimensional phenomenon; this paper analyzes the extent to which the demographics of cohabiting unions have changed across different cohorts of women in Latin America, while contrasting country-level differentials. Using census data from IPUMS International (1970-2000/2010) we conduct multilevel multinomial logistic regression models. Second, given the relatively recent increase in women’s labor force participation in this region we compare, across countries, the role of income in predicting cohabitation during the mid-2000s. By addressing these two aspects of consensual unions’ continuity and change, our study contributes to the understanding of the role this type of union plays within the larger society and how it may contribute to its stratification.

The study tried to measure the effect of religious affiliations and religiosity on marriage timing of people in United Kingdom. Special Emphasis is being put on the Muslim people due to previous finding from 2001 census which found that Muslim people tend to marry earlier compared to other religious groups in United Kingdom. Since Majority of Muslims in United Kingdom is from South Asian descent, this issue is closely related to the issue of how immigrants in United Kingdom are adapting to the British culture. Understanding Society wave 1 data which contains sample boost on ethnic minorities was used in order to get more samples from Muslim people. Analysis of Survivor functions was used to measure the change in marriage timing over time while Cox proportional Hazard model was used to measure the effect of covariates on marriage timing. It is believed that the role of cultural and religious values are still very strong among Muslims in United Kingdom, which results in support toward practices and attitudes that facilitate early marriage for Muslim people in United Kingdom.

Keyword: Muslim, Marriage Timing, Immigrants, Cox Proportional Hazard Model, Religiosity

Marriage has been chosen as a scapegoat for reducing burden of parents in Bangladesh. Thus often marriage takes place at early age, i.e., during childhood, which is known as ‘early marriage’. Premature marriage deprives the girls of the opportunity for personal development as well as their rights to health and wellbeing.
The objectives of this study were to identify the causes of early marriage for girls and determine the factors associated with early marriage. Findings revealed that mean age at marriage for rural area was 15.21 years and for urban area it was 17.13 years and for Bangladesh it stood at almost 16. These readings confirm early marriage still exists. About 72% of the respondents were married before they reach 18. The most important determinant of age at marriage was found that arranging marriage is perceived as the only socially acceptable way to have sex and child bearing.

Using data from eight European countries, we investigate expected consequences of union formation among non-partnered individuals aged 22-35 (N = 8,443). Data come from the Gender and Generations Surveys. For Sweden we use data from the Young Adult Panel Study. Overall, respondents expected only minor economic and non-economic consequences of moving in with a partner within the next three years. Swedes held the strongest expectations of an improved financial situation, whereas respondents from Belgium, France, Hungary and Russia had strongest expectations of improved career opportunities. Further, Romanians and Swedes anticipated decreasing personal freedom, whereas Hungarians expected increased life satisfaction. Women expected greater improvements in their financial situation and career opportunities than men. Men, on the other hand, to a greater extent than women expected reduced personal freedom when moving in with a partner. The more optimistic view of women on their financial situation after union formation was weaker in all countries relative to Sweden. Further, women expected better career opportunities than men in Austria, Belgium, Hungary and Romania compared with Sweden. Men’s stronger expectation of decreasing personal freedom by forming a union was significantly weaker in Austria, France and Hungary than in Sweden

The paper outlines the nature of prenatal sex selection in India links this with the future of union formation in India as well as the upcoming changes in the familial and societal fronts, especially from the gender perspective. Prenatal sex selection is an upper class phenomenon in the Indian society. This, combined with rapid demographic transition in most of the Indian states directly hit the supply of brides in the marriage market. For the Indian society, feasibility of formation of marital union will become a serious challenge as the imbalance of sexes is obvious. Given the nature of sex discrimination and hypergamic marriage system in India, unions will be formed with wide class differentials in which improved status of women cannot be expected even though the forthcoming squeeze is favouring females. Following lesser number of women, their role as care giver will be in demand which may ultimately intimidate the universality of marriage in the Indian society. Moreover, prenatal sex selection will affect the male population disproportionately bringing about more violence against women. Inter-regional marriage may become more prominent as there is a clear regional divide on the pattern of sex ratio.

This study examines the association between child marriage and women's experience of intimate partner emotional, physical and sexual violence in the past twelve months. Data are derived from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2007-2010 in Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Zambia. The analysis is based on currently married women aged 20-29 years who are in their first marriage. Twenty-eight percent of respondents in Ghana, 48 percent of those in Malawi and more than 50 percent of those in Nigeria and Zambia were married before their 18th birthday. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicate that child marriage is associated with higher odds of women experiencing sexual violence in Ghana, physical violence in Malawi, and emotional violence in Zambia. In Nigeria, the association between child marriage and emotional violence is mediated by individual- and relationship-level characteristics. In Nigeria and Zambia, first marriage at ages 15-17 is associated with higher odds of physical violence in the past 12 months than first marriage in adulthood. The findings suggest that there is a need for child marriage prevention and domestic violence prevention programs to work together to change the cycle of these forms of violence against women and the social norms that support them.

Early marriage or marriage before the age of 18 is often believed to have negative consequences, leading to lower educational attainment, early childbearing, and adverse health outcomes. Furthermore, early marriage has been regarded by international organizations as a violation of human rights. In Bangladesh, age at marriage has remained low despite the rise in female education. This paper explores the influences that lead to early marriage, including intergenerational effects, and consequences of early marriage for women in Matlab, Bangladesh. While other studies have used cross-sectional data or qualitative data to explore this issue, this study will capitalize upon a unique dataset that links longitudinal data available through two panels of the Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey (MHSS), and the prospectively gathered demographic surveillance data from the Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). The results of this study will provide new insights into the practice of early marriage for girls in Bangladesh. The findings may have policy implications to raise the age of marriage for girls.