Associations between child and adolescent marriage and reproductive outcomes in Brazil, Ecuador, the United States and Canada.

BACKGROUND: Although marriage is associated with favourable reproductive outcomes among adult women, it is not known whether the marriage advantage applies to girls (< 18 years). The contribution of girl child marriage (< 18 years) to perinatal health is understudied in the Americas. METHODS: National singleton birth registrations were used to estimate the prevalence of girl child marriage among mothers in Brazil (2011-2018, N = 23,117,661), Ecuador (2014-2018, N = 1,519,168), the USA (2014-2018, N = 18,618,283) and Canada (2008-2018, N = 3,907,610). The joint associations between marital status and maternal age groups (< 18, 18-19 and 20-24 years) with preterm birth (< 37 weeks), small-for-gestational age (SGA < 10 percentile) and repeat birth were assessed with logistic regression. RESULTS: The proportion of births to < 18-year-old mothers was 9.9% in Ecuador, 8.9% in Brazil, 1.5% in the United States and 0.9% in Canada, and marriage prevalence among < 18-year-old mothers was 3.0%, 4.8%, 3.7% and 1.7%, respectively. In fully-adjusted models, marriage was associated with lower odds of preterm birth and SGA among 20-24-year-old mothers in the four countries. Compared to unmarried 20-24-year-old women, married and unmarried < 18-year-old girls had higher odds of preterm birth in the four countries, and slightly higher odds of SGA in Brazil and Ecuador but not in the USA and Canada. In comparisons within age groups, the odds of repeat birth among < 18-year-old married mothers exceeded that of their unmarried counterparts in Ecuador [AOR: 1.99, 95%CI: 1.82, 2.18], the USA [AOR: 2.96, 95%CI: 2.79, 3.14], and Canada [AOR: 2.17, 95%CI: 1.67, 2.82], although minimally in Brazil [AOR: 1.09, 95%CI: 1.07, 1.11]. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of births to < 18-year-old mothers varies considerably in the Americas. Girl child marriage was differentially associated with perinatal health indicators across countries, suggesting context-specific mechanisms.

Escolher é Ser Escolhida: Meninice, Pobreza e Casamento Infantil no Brasil / Choosing to be Choosen: Childhood, Poverty and Child Marriage in Brazil

Resumo O casamento infantil é um problema social brasileiro, atinge mais meninas do que meninos e tem como características a consesualidade e certa "agência" das meninas pela união. O objetivo da pesquisa foi levantar os fatores subjetivos gendrados presentes nessa pretensa "escolha" e perscrutar demais especificidades do cotidiano conjugal vivido pelas meninas esposas. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa que entrevistou meninas casadas em cidades do interior do Estado de Goiás. Compreendeu-se que: elas escolhem ser escolhidas; no cotidiano conjugal, vivem agressões invisíveis a elas e narram violações/violências cotidianas e desamparo afetivo pregressos ao matrimônio. Faz-se mister empreender novas pesquisas científicas sobre esse tema, bem como criar ações que proporcionem outras possibilidades subjetivas para além dos destinos materno e amoroso.

Abstract Child marriage is a Brazilian social problem, affects more girls than boys and has as characteristics the girl's consensuality and certain "agency" for the union. The objective of this research was to raise the gender's subjective factors present in this so - called "choice" and to examine other specificities of the conjugal quotidian lived by the child spouses. This is a qualitative research, in which married girls from small cities in the state of Goiás were interviewed. It was understood that: they choose to be chosen; in the marital daily life, they live invisible aggressions to them, and they narrate daily violence and emotional abandonment before marriage. It is necessary to undertake new scientific research on this subject, as well as to create actions that provide other subjective possibilities beyond the maternal and loving destinies.

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

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.