Process of entry into marriage in Urban Uttar Pradesh: analyzing the role of education, employment and familial environment

Ravi Prakash, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

In the era of present economic development and modernization, adolescents and young adults are now facing rapidly improving prospects for their future. These changes have resulted in large increase in educational attainment, which in turn have been associated with decline in child labor, and delays in formation of marital union as well. Considering marriage as an important domain of adulthood, using primary data from urban Uttar Pradesh, this paper examines that under which circumstances individual changes their marital status and make first time entry into wedlock. Additionally, whether their life cycle decisions are being influenced by their parental/familial decision? Finding suggests that, despite the high level of education in study area, employment is not the threshold condition for marriage, especially for females. Even in several cases, males are also getting married just after the completion of education or even before due to their family pressure generated from different reasons.