Peer-reviewed article
Is parental engagement associated with subsequent delayed marriage and marital choices of adolescent girls? Evidence from the Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) survey in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India
Pintu Paul, Kalysha Closson, Anita Raj ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether parental engagement in conversations about school, friendships, and personal matters is associated with delayed marriage and girls' involvement in marital decisions among adolescent girls in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. Using data from 6,168 girls aged 15-19 years followed over three years, the researchers found that discussing school performance, friendships, and personal issues with parents was associated with remaining unmarried or marrying later. Among girls who married before age 18, those whose parents discussed personal issues with them were more likely to be involved in selecting their husband. The findings suggest that early parental engagement on key topics may help delay child marriage and increase girls' say in marital decisions.
Key points
- Parental discussion about school performance, friendship, and personal matters were each associated with increased likelihood of remaining unmarried (RRR 1.29-1.37)
- Discussing school performance was associated with marriage delayed to 18-19 years or 20-22 years rather than before 18 (RRR 0.62-0.50)
- Discussion about menstruation showed negative associations with delayed marriage, suggesting topic-specific differences in parental engagement effects
- Among girls who married before 18, parental discussion of personal issues was associated with girls being involved (with parents) in husband selection rather than parents selecting alone (RRR 1.43)
- 31.2% of girls married between waves 1 and 2, with 12.5% marrying as minors below age 18
Limitations
The study is observational and cannot establish causation; associations may reflect reverse causation (parents engaging more with girls who are already less likely to marry early) or confounding by unmeasured factors. The findings are specific to two Indian states and may not generalise to other contexts.
Abstract
Objective: This study examines the association between parental engagement and subsequent delayed marriage of adolescent girls and, secondarily, to assess whether parental engagement is positively associated with girls' involvement in marital decision-making regarding husband selection. Methods: The study used longitudinal survey data from the Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. We analysed 6168 unmarried adolescent girls aged 15-19 years at wave 1 (2015-16) who were interviewed in wave 2 (2018-19). Our outcomes were delayed marriage of girls (unmarried vs. married at 20-22 vs. married at 18-19 vs. married at <18) and, among those married at <18 years, girls' involvement in husband selection (alone vs. with parents vs. not involved). Parental discussion around school performance, friendships, menstruation, pregnancy, free time, and personal issues were the exposure variables. We applied unadjusted and adjusted multinomial regression models to assess associations between our exposure variables and each outcome variable. Results: From wave 1 to wave 2, 1551 girls (31.2%) married; 567 girls (12.5%) married as minors (<18 years). We found that parental discussion around school performance (relative risk ratio [RRR]: 1.33), friendship (RRR: 1.37) and personal matters (RRR: 1.29) were positively associated with remaining unmarried relative to early marriage of girls. However, discussion with parents about menstruation was negatively associated with marriage at 20-22 (RRR: 0.67) and remaining unmarried (RRR: 0.80), compared to early marriage. Discussing school performance was negatively associated with marriage at 18-19 (RRR: 0.62) and at 20-22 (RRR: 0.50), relative to early marriage. Discussing personal issues with parents was positively associated with joint parent-girl decision-making regarding husband selection, relative to parents alone selecting the husband (RRR: 1.43). Conclusions: Parental engagement on school performance, friendship, and personal issues in early adolescence may help delay marriage and support marital choice for girls in India.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Parental engagement through discussions with adolescent girls about school performance, friendships, menstruation, pregnancy, free time, and personal issues
- Population
- Unmarried adolescent girls aged 15-19 years in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India
Key finding
Parental discussion about school performance, friendship, and personal issues were positively associated with remaining unmarried (RRR 1.29-1.37)