Thesis Abstract and Dissertation Abstracts
Inter-generational Changes in Mate Selection and Marriage Age in Urban Varanasi
Abstract Category: Other Categories
Course / Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Institution / University: International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India
Published in: 2010
Marriage is one of the major events of life and the institution of marriage is immemorial which, in some form, is found everywhere. As long as the institution of marriage exists, the selection of a mate is an important aspect of the institution as we observe its’ universality. The institution of marriage mostly remained conservative. But with the ongoing changes and modifications in different social institutions there is a definite change in selecting a partner in Indian society. These changes are closely related with the current changes in age at marriage. Studies have been conducted to examine the influence of industrialisation, urbanisation and increased education on different components of mate selection. However, studies which focus on other dimensions of mate selection like changes in marriage norms, attitude towards marriage, increased participation of bride/groom in decision making process and many more remain limited. Using the cross-generational primary data collected from the urban areas of Varanasi district, this study makes an attempt to explore the changes which have emerged in various dimensions of mate selection process and marriage age over the generations, individuals’ transition to adulthood, and the views of unmarried individuals and parents on present changes in mate selection process and marriage age.
Four hypotheses were formed in this study.
- First, Individual’s unfavourable attitude towards marriage leads to postponement of marriage age.
- Second, individual’s involvement in marriage related decision-making has increased over the generations.
- Third, higher education and working status enhances the chances of self selection and
- fourth, individuals staying with their parents have greater chances of early marriage.
To meet these objectives and to test the mentioned hypotheses appropriate bi-variate and multivariate techniques (Multiple linear regression analysis, Logistic regression and Multiple Classification Analysis) have been used. The use of discrete time hazard model is done to analyse the individual’s transition to adulthood while the Principal Component Analysis is used for generating different indices. Results have clearly shown that improvement in status of women over the period of time, their increasing involvement in decision-making, and close attachment with parents have enhanced their participation in the final decision of mate selection. Changing familial values and the generational changes in the familial environment are responsible for changes in the mind setup of parents that early marriage is not good for their children. The increased knowledge about existing laws about legal age at marriage is also prohibiting the individuals and their parents from early marriage, as it is seen that correct knowledge about legal age at marriage was significantly associated with lower age at marriage. Even the attitude towards marriage is also found to be closely associated with age at marriage of individuals. Those individuals who carry unfavourable attitudes towards marriage were significantly more likely to postpone their marriage. With the changes in definition of ideal marriage partner, there are definite changes in preferred characteristics of the partner.
Findings show that males tend to attach relatively greater importance to domestic skills of potential brides, whereas for females, material wealth, either directly in terms of good financial condition or indirectly intelligence - potential for good financial condition - are important criteria for selecting a partner. Both males and females look for faithfulness and physical attractiveness. In some of the cases, it is also observed that young generation is ready to wait for marriage until they get a partner with preferred characteristics which ultimately increases the age at marriage. The changes in mate selection process like involvement of individuals in marriage related decision-making, their agreement, self selection, and desire of settling in life before marriage are further pushing the marriage age in upward direction. A significantly higher proportion of male and female respondents of present generation took part in marriage related decision-making and suggested that there is a greater involvement of individuals in marriage related decisions from older generation to younger generation. An overwhelming majority of the young individuals wanted some freedom in selecting a future spouse and also wanted their parents to consult them before selecting a spouse for them so that they can make their feelings known. Even a few respondents of this study have performed their marriage according to their own wish. Higher education and working status were important factors in enhancing the chances of self-selection. With the help of life history data on the key components of transition to adulthood, such as education, work and living arrangements, this study makes a valuable contribution in Indian context.
The findings give a brief idea about the individuals’ transition to marriage in contemporary traditional society. There is a decline in the proportion of marriages at young ages. It is observed that individuals prefer to have higher education and better employment before getting married. Now women are also placing more emphasis on work participation. They are coming out of the old traditional culture and sharing greater responsibilities in income generating activities by taking equal part in paid work outside the home. The participation of women in income generating activities not only enhances the economic status of family, but is also responsible for increase in marriage age. It is observed that individuals from traditional societies are also following the normative sequencing of life cycle of education-employment-marriage, and this sequencing is more prominent among males than females. Parents are accepting the need of higher education and better employment before marriage and are not forcing the youth to marry at an early age.
The analysis also suggested that for non-working individuals there were fewer chances of getting married at an early age. In the nutshell, it can be concluded that though both old and young generations have modern outlook towards the process of mate selection, tradition has also remained important in the study area. Increasing number of parents are ready to accept a partner selected by their children but it is conditional. They would approve mate selected by children provided he/she matches with their expectations of same caste and socio-economic group. Similarly, young generation though want prominent role in the mate selection process, many of them are not ready to take the responsibility of selection as they fear the failure in selecting appropriate partners. They would still rely on parents for selection but would also like their consent to be taken in the final decision. So, marriages are now being made with suitable changes in the pre-existing norms and are likely to increase the age at marriage of individuals of present generation.
Thesis Keywords/Search Tags:
marriage age, generational changes, marriage norms, marriage laws, attitude
This Thesis Abstract may be cited as follows:
Prakash, R. 2010. Inter-generational Changes in Mate Selection and Marriage Age in Urban Varanasi. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences
Submission Details: Thesis Abstract submitted by Ravi Prakash from India on 18-Oct-2010 11:43.
Abstract has been viewed 3428 times (since 7 Mar 2010).
Ravi Prakash Contact Details: Email: ravistats@gmail.com Phone: 9632280421
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