Age at first marriage in Nepal: differentials and determinants

The aim of this paper is to investigate the differentials and determinants of female age at first marriage in rural Nepal. The life table technique was employed to calculate median age at marriage. The proportional hazard model was used to study the effect of various socioeconomic variables, and to identify the magnitude and significance of their effects on the timing of first marriage. The data were taken from a sample survey of Palpa and Rupandehi districts in rural Nepal. Both married and unmarried females of marriageable age were included in the survey. Median age at marriage was about 17 years for data from only married females, whereas it was about 18 years for data from married as well as unmarried females of marriageable age. Median age at marriage was about 16 years for uneducated females and 19 years for females educated up to intermediate or higher level. The analysis underestimates the median age at marriage for married females, probably due to right censoring. The risk of getting married early decreased gradually with increasing year-of-birth cohort. The risk of early marriage was higher among females of high socioeconomic status compared with those of low socioeconomic status. Females engaged in service married earlier than those engaged in household work. High socioeconomic status families are motivated, for religious and prestige reasons, to get their daughters married at an early age, preferably before menarche. Thus, education, occupation and age at menarche are the most powerful factors in deciding the timing of first marriage in Nepal.     

Socioeconomic and cultural differentials in age at marriage and the effect on fertility in Nepal

Age at marriage is one of the factors that influence the fertility behaviour of women, particularly in a society like Nepal where contraceptive use is low. Socioeconomic and cultural factors, particularly religion and ethnicity, are important variables in determining age at marriage in Nepal. Fertility was negatively related with age at marriage. Marriage duration had a greater influence on fertility than age at marriage, although these were strongly correlated.     

Ethnic differentials in early childhood mortality in Nepal

This paper investigates the association of early childhood mortality (between birth and second birthday) with ethnicity in Nepal, based on data from the 1976 Nepal Fertility Survey, which was part of the World Fertility Survey. The approach is through a series of hazard models, which incorporate ethnicity, year of birth, mother's illiteracy, father's illiteracy, rural-urban residence, region, sex, maternal age, survival of previous birth, previous birth interval, and breast-feeding as covariates. Ethnic differentials in early childhood mortality are not explained by the other socioeconomic and demographic covariates, except for a modest effect of illiteracy, but the remaining covariates explain a great deal of variability in early childhood mortality itself. Analysis using an improved specification of breast-feeding as an age-varying covariate indicates, on average, that breast-feeding, relative to not breast-feeding, reduces age-specific mortality risks during the first 2 years of life by 76%, a very large effect.     

Divorce in Ethiopia: the impact of early marriage and childlessness

Forty-five per cent of first marriages in Ethiopia end in divorce within 30 years, and two-thirds of women who divorce do so within the first 5 years of marriage. This paper looks at two factors that may have an impact on the risk of divorce in Ethiopia: early age of first marriage, and childlessness within the first marriage. Data used were from the 1990 National Family and Fertility Survey conducted by the Government of Ethiopia. A total of 8757 women of reproductive age (15-49) were analysed. Life table analysis was used to determine the median age at first marriage, first birth and the median duration of marriage. Cox models were analysed to determine the differentials of divorce. The results of this analysis showed that both early age at marriage and childlessness have a significant impact on the risk of divorce. An inverse relationship was found between age at marriage and risk of divorce. Having a child within the first marriage also significantly reduced the risk of divorce. In addition, several cultural and socioeconomic variables were significant predictors of divorce.     

Early vision is early in time

Roelfsema, Tolboom, and Khayat have found that neurons in primary visual cortex, V1, increase their spike firing rates to signal image segmentation and attention. V1 responses were in a temporal sequence: first to image motion, next to segmentation, last to attentional signals. The involvement of V1 with segmentation and attention suggests modifying the hierarchical view of visual perception.     

Consanguineous marriage and differentials in age at marriage, contraceptive use and fertility in Pakistan

Fertility rates in Pakistan have remained consistently high over the past three decades. While numerous studies have examined sociodemographic determinants, the role of biological factors, and particularly consanguinity, has received little attention, even though marriage between close biological relatives continues to be the norm in Pakistan. Reproductive behaviour among women in consanguineous (first cousin) and non-consanguineous unions was compared, using data from a 1995 study of multi-ethnic communities in Karachi and the 1990-91 Pakistan Demographic & Health Survey (PDHS). The results show that, although female age at first marriage has been gradually rising in both study samples, women in consanguineous unions married at younger ages and were less likely to use modern contraceptive methods. In the Karachi sample, women in first cousin unions experienced a higher mean number of pregnancies and also reported a higher mean number of children ever born (CEB). However, their mean number of surviving children did not differ from those born to women in non-consanguineous unions, implying higher prenatal and/or postnatal losses in couples related as first cousins. On the other hand, the PDHS showed both lower CEB values for women in consanguineous marriages and a lower number of surviving children. Given the continuing popularity of consanguineous marriage, these findings have important implications for future fertility reduction in Pakistan.     

Vasectomy reversal in Nepal

Data from 157 men in Nepal who had vasectomy reversal are analysed. Most sought reversal within 5 years of vasectomy. Half of the men sought reversal because of the death of a male child, and about one-fourth because of the loss of a female child. Re-marriage was the primary reason for only 10% of the men. Those having reversal because of the loss of a male child were generally younger, and for almost half of this group, the age of their last child at the time of their vasectomy was under 2 years. The results suggest that the demand for reversal could be considerably reduced by more careful screening of the potential vasectomy acceptors.     

Animal Welfare in Nepal

The small densely populated country of Nepal rises from just above sea level to more than 8800 m and encompasses many agro-ecological zones. Rich in both nature and culture, livestock are integral to household and national economies. Most Nepalese consider the cow sacred, and slaughter is forbidden. Other nonhuman animals are less esteemed, slaughter is not proscribed, and many are sacrificed during religious festivals. Limited financial and material resources, inadequate feed supplies, poor access to veterinary services, absence of appropriate legislation, and ignoring the needs of livestock as sentient beings can compromise welfare and lead to inhumane treatment. This article reviews the welfare status of various groups (food-producing stock, work animals, street dogs, experimental animals, and elephants in captivity). Several animal welfare charities are represented. Suggestions for improved welfare are discussed, but the prognosis is not encouraging especially in view of the widespread struggle and people’s own struggle for survival.     

The win-win potential for motherhood and science

Women wishing to combine children with a research career should not be seen as taking a backstep but as bolstering both activities, argues Marlene Belfort.     

Early diagnosis and early treatment of growth hormone deficiency

In the past, growth hormone (GH) deficiency has usually been diagnosed too late in dwarfed children, so that substitution therapy was not able to obtain a final height in the normal range for most of them. Complete catch-up of growth in hypopituitary patients needs early diagnosis and early treatment. This requires: (1) that full attention be paid to any insufficiency of length or height increment in infants and young children; (2) that evaluation of GH secretion be performed in spite of the practical difficulties encountered in small patients, and (3) that the interpretation of hormonal measurements be carefully discussed. Though the overall results obtained to date in treating very young GH-deficient children have not been completely satisfactory, it is certain that those whose height was within or near the limits of -2 SD at the onset of treatment maintained a normal height. The relationship of end results with the doses of GH used remains to be investigated. Future results will probably be improved more by earlier diagnosis and by using daily injections than by an increase in the annual dose of GH.     

Mortality and age differences in marriage.

Data from the 1971 census population were used to evaluate the effects of age differences of married partners on mortality rates. Different age groups were isolated to highlight the association between mortality and age of spouse for specific ages of married men and women. Men married to much younger or to older women exhibited a higher mortality rate than men married to women who were only a few years younger than themselves. A similar trend was observed among women married to much younger or much older men compared with those whose spouses were a few years older or of similar ages as themselves. Trends for other age groups (women aged 60-69 years, men below 40, and women below 30) did not exhibit a clear pattern. Although statistical biases within age groups may in part account for the differences in the findings, the trend which emerged from the analysis suggests that lower morbidity is associated with the most common age combinations (husbands same age or slightly older than wives). Other factors could also account for the differences (e.g., selection of healthy partners in 1st marriages, differences in lifestyles between married and single).     

Social and family characteristics of marriage in England and Wales: information derived from marriage registration records

Information on social and family aspects of marriage was obtained from a sample of over a thousand marriages solemnised in England and Wales in 1979. The data include the standard demographic variables concerning the couple and their marriage and also: the day of the week the marriage was celebrated; whether the fathers or relatives of similar surname to the spouses acted as witnesses; the patterns of name usage by brides; the numbers of forenames of the marriage partners and their fathers; and the frequency of bridegrooms having one or more forenames in common with their fathers. The factors are analysed in terms of social class differences as well as in relation to the distance over which marriages range and other demographic characteristics of the partners and their marriage.     

Intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic marriage and divorce in Hawaii

A comparison of intra- and inter-ethnic divorce rates in Hawaii showed that inter-ethnic marriages resulted in a higher proportion of divorces than did intra-ethnic marriages when the marriage data used had to do with all marriages occurring in Hawaii. However, a sizeable portion of marriages in Hawaii are of nonresidents who, if they divorce, probably divorce elsewhere. Nonresident marriages are chiefly intra-ethnic marriages of Caucasians. When examining the proportions of divorces to resident marriages, within-group marriages are more at risk than inter-ethnic marriages. As in prior research, persons who marry members of other racial/ethnic groups tend to marry persons from groups with income levels similar to their own. As in previous reports, some cross-ethnic combinations appeared more at risk for divorce than did others. Group income appeared to be a predictor of risk. When considering only resident marriages as related to divorces, those marriages in which the bride was from a higher income group than the groom were at a significantly greater risk for divorce than marriage in which the bride came from an income group lower than that of the groom.     

Changes in American marriage patterns

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