The Decline of Early Marriage and Motherhood in Latin America: Decomposing Second Demographic Transition Characteristics

Abstract

BackgroundUntil recently, marriage was nearly universal, and occurred early in life for women in Latin America. A significant proportion of women were both married and mothers before reaching adulthood. Girls married under the age of 18 are victims of Child Early and Forced Marriage, a violation of their human rights. The changes predicted by Second Demographic Transition theory may have reduced the prevalence of early marriage and motherhood as well as decoupled the institution of marriage from motherhood. This article contributes to the understanding of early marriage and motherhood in Latin America by describing the relationship between these characteristics and the emergence the Second Demographic Transition among young women from 1980-2010. MethodsI use CEPALSTAT data on marriage and motherhood in Latin America to calculate statistics on marriage and motherhood for young women in the three youngest age groups, those ages 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24. Using these statistics, I assess changes in three classic SDT dimensions (Postponement of Marriage, Postponement of Motherhood, and increased Unmarried Motherhood). I then decompose the Overall Motherhood Prevalence Rate to determine which contributed more to the changes observed, the postponement of marriage, or the postponement of motherhood. ResultsSustained decreases in the prevalence of marriage and motherhood were observed for all groups, but also an increase in unmarried mothers. Declines in marriage were largely responsible for declines in motherhood rates for all age groups in all decades. The changes observed in the data correspond to the SDT predictions and indicate that postponement of marriage is driving the postponement of motherhood for young women in Latin America. Reducing the prevalence of CEFM has played a major role in reducing early motherhood during this transition.ConclusionThis article provides a novel approach to evaluating the impact of the SDT on early marriage and motherhood. It shows that the prevalence of CEFM declined dramatically during this period, although the absolute numbers of child brides increased. The results provide evidence of postponement of marriage and motherhood, the decoupling of marriage and motherhood, and the potential for sustained fertility decline in Latin America.