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Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article uses qualitative data from Niger to examine adolescent girls' perceptions of their own agency in marriage decisions and contextual factors influencing these perceptions. We find that girls make marital decisions within a context that stresses parental consent and community approval, places a high value on obedience, and is constrained by limited opportunities, gendered distribution of labor, and dominant social norms promoting an early and narrow 'window of opportunity' for marriage. Findings demonstrate that interventions aiming to delay marriage in Niger must work to influence both community norms supporting child marriage and girls' own motivations in martial decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increases at age at first birth in the United States, we have little research on how individuals conceptualize the ideal age to have a child. Using qualitative interviews with male and female young adults in greater New York City, we examined individuals' responses to questions about the ideal age at first birth. We find factors associated with an age being ideal tend to fall in four main domains: structural/social position factors, interpersonal factors, fertility and health-related factors, and aspirational factors. This research suggests that the ideal age is higher than the actual age at first birth, and both males and females consider a number of factors when choosing an ideal age, including education and career. We find that interpersonal and aspirational factors are also important considerations. Understanding ideal age at first birth is important for understanding family formation decision making in relation to age and may have important implications in other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]