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Socio-demographic changes in age at first marriage in Malawi: evidence from Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data, 1992–2016

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2019

Ololade Julius Baruwa Open the ORCID record for Ololade Julius Baruwa [Opens in a new window] ,
Acheampong Yaw Amoateng  and
Elizabeth Biney
Ololade Julius Baruwa*
Affiliation:
Population and Health Research Entity, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University (Mafikeng Campus), South Africa
Acheampong Yaw Amoateng
Affiliation:
Population and Health Research Entity, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University (Mafikeng Campus), South Africa
Elizabeth Biney
Affiliation:
Population and Health Research Entity, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University (Mafikeng Campus), South Africa
*
*Corresponding author. Email: baruwaololade@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study aimed to identify the social and demographic correlates of the trend in age at first marriage among women in Malawi, using Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data collected between 1992 and 2016. Employing Cox Proportional Hazard modelling, the results showed that the mean age at first marriage during the 18-year period remained constant at 17.4 years. Furthermore, across all the surveys, younger women married at an early age compared with their older counterparts. The results further showed that having no education, residing in the Northern region, working, belonging to the middle and rich wealth index categories, and belonging to Tumbuka, Lomwe, Yao, Ngoni and Amanganja/Anyanja ethnicities increased the risk of early marriage. The findings suggest that policies such as promoting access to education for women and enforcing the law that restricts the legal age at which a woman can marry (18 years) should be maintained and enforced in Malawi.

Keywords

MalawiAge at first marriageSocio-demographic correlates
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 52 , Issue 6 , November 2020 , pp. 832 - 845
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019

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