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

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.