Background
Relatively little
research on the issue of child marriage has been conducted in European
countries where the overall prevalence of child marriage is relatively low, but
relatively high among marginalized ethnic sub-groups. The purpose of this study
is to assess the risk factors associated with the practice of child marriage
among females living in Roma settlements in Serbia and among the general
population and to explore the inter-relationship between child marriage and
school enrollment decisions.
Methods
The study is based on
data from a nationally representative household survey in Serbia conducted in
2010 – and a separate survey of households living in Roma settlements in the
same year. For each survey, we estimated a bivariate probit model of risk
factors associated with being currently married and currently enrolled in
school based on girls 15 to 17 years of age in the nationally
representative and Roma settlements samples.
Results
The practice of child
marriage among the Roma was found to be most common among girls who lived in
poorer households, who had less education, and who lived in rural locations.
The results of the bivariate probit analysis suggest that, among girls in the
general population, decisions about child marriage school attendance are
inter-dependent in that common unobserved factors were found to influence both
decisions. However, among girls living in Roma settlements, there is only weak
evidence of simultaneous decision making.
Conclusion
The study finds evidence
of the interdependence between marriage and school enrollment decisions among
the general population and, to a lesser extent, among the Roma. Further
research is needed on child marriage among the Roma and other marginalized
sub-groups in Europe, and should be based on panel data, combined with
qualitative data, to assess the role of community-level factors and the
characteristics of households where girls grow up on child marriage and
education decisions.
Below: Percent of women ages 20 to 24 who report first marrying before ages 15 and 18, 2010
Below: Percent distribution of currently married/in union females ages 15–19 and 20–24 years living in Roma settlements by age difference with her husband/partner, 2010
Below: Percent of women living in Roma settlements age 20–24 first married before ages 15 and 18, by educational attainment, 2010
Below: Percent of women living in Roma settlements ages 20–24 married before ages 15 and 18, by wealth group, 2010
Department of
Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University, New
Orleans, LA USA
Independent
Consultant, Indore, India
UNICEF, New York,
NY USA
David R. Hotchkiss, Email: ude.enalut@sikhctoh.
Corresponding
author.
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv insight
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