Transitions to adulthood in men and women in rural Malawi in the 21st century using sequence analysis: Some evidence of delay

BACKGROUNDMany sub-Saharan African countries have large populations of young people, and these cohorts have the potential to bring significant change.Understanding the changing lives of young people is important for ensuring individuals experience healthy and successful transitions to adulthood and for understanding how best to ensure they realise their full potential, for themselves and their communities. METHODSThis analysis used detailed, prospectively collected data on men and women from the Karonga Health and Demographic Surveillance Site in rural Malawi between 2004-2017.Multi-channel sequence analysis was conducted for the domains of leaving school, getting married, and having children.Sequences were grouped into clusters and descriptive and multinomial logistic regression carried out to assess differences in the transition to adulthood by sex, calendar time, and sociodemographic factors. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONSMany participants followed a fairly early and rapid transition to adulthood; however, a sizable proportion experienced later marriage.These participants were split into those