Familial Factors Influencing Age-Heterogamy vs. Age-Homogamy in Marriage in Bangladesh: Implication for Social Policy Practice

Abstract

This study examines whether family patterns (social origin of family, marital SES, arranged marriage, higher family size norm, and patriarchal family structure (e.g., extended/joint family, patrilocal residence, and family authority) affect age-heterogamy in marriage in rural Bangladesh. One thousand seven hundred fifty-five pairs of married couples for research purpose were randomly selected from Tanore Upazila of Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. The selected couples (e.g., both husband and wife) were individually interviewed, using questionnaire method (e.g., open-ended and close-ended questions). The collected data were analyzed, applying Spearman’s rank order bivariate correlation, X 2 test, and binary logistic regression. Descriptive findings indicated that most of the couples (76.58 %) studied were age-heterogamous than age-homogenous (23.42 %) in the study area. Results suggested that age-heterogamous marriages than age-homogamous marriages were significantly associated with ethnicity, marital SES, family income, arranged marriage norms, patrilocal residence, and autocratic family authority, adjusting for sex, age, age at marriage, and marital duration. Of the predicting factors, Muslim ethnicity, lower marital SES, middle family income, arranged marriage, middle family size, patrilocal residence, and autocratic family authority were the greatest (1–3 % times) risks factors to persist age-heterogamous marriages among the married couples in rural Bangladesh. This research found that age-heterogamous marriages than age-homogamous marriages were significantly associated with Muslim collective identity than Santal identity, hyper marital SES, arranged marriage, middle family size, and patriarchal family structure (patrilocal residence and men’s absolute authority than other characteristics in the family in rural Bangladesh, adjusting for current age, age at first marriage, and marital duration. The findings may have implications in social policy practice with age-heterogamous married couples in rural Bangladesh.