Educational differentials in nuptiality patterns: Evidence from the 1976 Jordan fertility survey
Abstract (summary)
Rapid social and economic changes have been taking place in Jordan during the last two decades. Most notable is educational development which has been outstanding. To assess the impact these changes have on nuptiality in Jordan, analysis of the levels and patterns of marriage timing, marital disruption, and remarriage for five identified educational groups of women was undertaken in this thesis. For all the groups combined, an attempt was made to analyze the time trend in age at marriage, marital disruption, and remarriage. Levels and trends of sex differences in age at marriage and the proportions ever married were also examined. The socio-economic factors associated with the observed levels of female age at first marriage, divorce or separation, and remarriage were analyzed. The data used for analysis in this thesis are primarily those of the 1976 Jordan Fertility Survey (JFS). Data from the censuses and demographic surveys conducted throughout the period 1961-1983 were also used.
In this study, differences found in age at first marriage and the proportions ever married by education are substantial. Higher female education is generally associated with higher age at marriage. In the period 1961-1983, a decline in the proportions ever married for women at ages below 45 that resulted in an upward shift in the mean ages at marriage was noticed. In this same period, sex differences in age at first marriage, which averaged a little more than four years, were sustained. Findings of the multivariate analysis conducted in this thesis have shown a positive association between female education and age at marriage. Analysis of the patterns and trends of marital disruption in Jordan indicated low levels of divorce and separation that were maintained over the period 1961-1979. Estimated regression coefficients showed a significant positive effect of literacy on the divorce or separation likelihood. Finally, remarriage in Jordan was found to be common mainly among women in the age range 25-34. In the multivariate analysis used to identify the factors determining the levels of remarriage, literacy was shown to be positively related to the remarriage risk.
Indexing (details)
Demographics;
Demography
0938: Demography