The Sequence and Timing of Family Formation Events in Asia

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is marked by a number of role changes none more central than the beginnings of family formation with marriage and parenthood. This paper examines the sequence and time interval between these 2 events: age at 1st marriage and age at the birth of the 1st child. A general conceptual framework for the study of the determinants of early family formation is presented. Within this framework the effects of educational attainment and urban/rural origins on the timing of 1st marriage and 1st birth among women in 4 Asian societies are examined. Some common patterns of family formation were found that lend modest support to Goodes convergence thesis but there are also significant unexplained interpopulation differences. (authors modified)