ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia2023
Child marriage and the mental health of adolescent girls: a longitudinal cohort study from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India.
Article in The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk of suicidal behaviors among adolescent pregnant women with early married: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Core Elements of the Stunting Prevention Model to Improve Adolescents' Quality of Life.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Article
- Article
- Age at first marriage and women's psychosocial wellbeing in the Amhara region, Ethiopia.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Nature, prevalence and determinants of mental health problems experienced by adolescents in south Asia: a systematic review.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2025Article
- The Impact of Afghanistan's Policies on Early Child Marriage and Girl's Education: Current Trends and Future Consequences.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2025Article
- A Mixed Methods Exploration of Young Women's Agency and Mental Health during COVID-19 in Low-Income Communities in Mumbai, India.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Depression among currently married ever pregnant adolescents in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar: Evidence from understanding the lives of adolescents and young adults (UDAYA) survey, India.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
- Adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights for ethnic minority girls in Vietnam.Health promotion international · 2024Article
- Early marriage, education and mental health: experiences of adolescent girls in Mozambique.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Article
- 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.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- "Can't live willingly": A thematic synthesis of qualitative evidence exploring how early marriage and early pregnancy affect experiences of pregnancy in South Asia.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: There has been much speculation about the role of inequitable gender norms and early marriage in mental health and suicide risks in girls and young women, but no prospective study has yet investigated this relationship. Understanding these links has become particularly important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to increased risk of child marriage in the most vulnerable girls. Methods: We examined the association between early marriage and mental health in girls using data from Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA), a longitudinal study in adolescents in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. The study included girls who were unmarried at wave 1 (2015-2016) and participated at wave 2 data collection (2018-2019). Information on mental health (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)), suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts were collected at both waves. Logistic regression with survey weights was used to estimate the association between marrying between the two waves and mental health. Findings: Between waves 1 and 2, 1825 (23%) participants (n = 7864) married. Unmarried girls with depressive symptoms (PHQ score≥9) at wave 1 had greater odds of transitioning into marriage by wave 2 than those without (adjusted-OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.0). The odds of wave 2 depressive symptoms were higher in newly married vs unmarried girls (adjusted-OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.6-2.5). Among newly married girls, the odds of depressive symptoms were higher for those who experienced any abuse than those who did not (adjusted-OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.2-2.2). This effect was larger for girls who had not given birth (adjusted-OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.4-3.3). Interpretation: Our findings show poor mental health preceded and was a consequence of child marriage. Mental health should be considered in policies and programming aimed at reducing early marriage; equally the mental health of young brides should be a focus for community and maternal health services. Funding: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
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