The Impact of First Marriage Age on Fertility Rate in Abu Dhabi - Research Paper Example

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date Introduction The Arab world has witnessed a shift in the age bracket within which people commit into the marriage institution. In 1975, the average marriage age for women was 15 years. There was a significant decline in the percentage of women that married at 15 years of age from 57% in 1975 to 8% in 1995 in the UAE. The evolution of the social and economic sectors of the country was responsible for the decline in the percentage of women that married at the age of 15 years. Ever since the formation of the UAE in 1971, women started playing significant roles. Currently, the current age group for fertility in Abu Dhabi ranges from 28 to 33 years. However, it is important to note that Abu Dhabi exhibits the highest fertility rate among the other UAE emirates. There is a direct association between early marriages and high fertility rates. The research aims at investigating the impact of first marriage age on fertility rate in Abu Dhabi. The findings of the study would give an insight on the necessary population check policies that would deal with the problem of increasing marriage ages for women in Abu Dhabi. Apparently, the direct relationship between early marriages and fertility rate implies that the women get married at early ages have a higher fertility rate. Therefore, they are able to produce more children during their fertility age. However, the increase in fertility rate in Abu Dhabi would have the impact of reducing the fertility rate of women thereby resulting in a decline in the population. The report comprises of a review of relevant literature, the research questions, the research methodology, project plan, budget, and the challenges and contingency plans. Literature Review The UAE is witnessing an increase in the age of first marriage of its women. The increase in the age of first marriage has an adverse effect on the fertility rate of women. As opposed to 1975 when approximately 57% of women married at the early age of 15 years, the country has witnessed a drastic change in the situation. Currently, a majority of women tend to marry at later ages of between 28 and 33 years. The development of the country’s economy has contributed to the increase in the age of first marriage. Rather than carrying out household roles, as it was the case initially, women have also delved into professional roles. This has had the impact of increasing their marriage age and reducing their fertility rate (Al Awad and Chartouni 82). Early marriages on the part of women have an impact on the health of both the baby and the mother. The percentage of women entering into marriage at the age of 15 years has declined from 57% in 1975 to 8% in 2013. The ongoing developments in the social and economic sectors are responsible for the decline in the age of first marriage. In Abu Dhabi, the age of first marriage has risen sharply to between 28 and 33 years. The sharp increase in the rate of increase of first marriage age necessitates immediate measures to check the population or risk a decline in the total population of the emirate. Early marriages have increased the fertility rate of women besides providing an extended duration of which women can bear children. On the other hand, there is an association between late marriages and decreased fertility rates among women. According to Karamat (573), delayed marriages lead to delayed childbearing. This has a negative impact on the growth of the population. In essence, the decision of women in the UAE to delay marriages influences directly on their ability to have children. Consequently, they end up having fewer children. The impact is an aging population and a decline in the population. Contrary to the initial perception that the fertility of a woman starts declining in her 30’s, it is evident that the fertility of a woman starts declining in her late 20’s. Therefore, increasing the age of marriage reduces the fertile years of a woman. Some find it difficult to conceive. As a result, they face the threat of either becoming infertile or bearing fewer children. Increasing marriage age is a rising trend across the globe. Rather than threatening the infertility of a woman, there are other health issues associated with delayed marriages (Alibeli 227). Abnormality in children has turned out to be one of the adverse effects of delayed marriages on the health of children. Down syndrome is one of the negative health effects associated with delayed marriages. Autism spectrum disorder is the other abnormality associated with bearing children after attaining the age of 40 years. The need to study and become independent is the other motivating factor behind late marriages (Al-Jenaibi 238). Surpassing the age of thirty increases conception difficulties among women even though certain infertility treatments can address the situation. Some of the social factors that have an influence on the age of marriage of a woman include the occupation of an individual, accommodation, family planning, and family structure. It is evident that these factors have a negative impact on the marriageable age thereby increasing infertility among women. Moreover, delayed marriages have an impact on marriage and sexual initiation sequence. This results in having multiple sexual partners by young adults before marrying that contribute towards the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted illnesses (Karamat 573). Moreover, delayed marriages extend the adolescent period thereby pre-occupying community leaders, the government, parents, and policy makers because of the need to deal with associated problems such as premarital sex, abortions, unwanted pregnancies, STDs and AIDS, and dating issues. Increased spread of HIV/AIDS due to late marriages reclines on two arguments. To begin with, unmarried women that are sexually active present the highest risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other STDs. Moreover, the high rate of infectivity associated with none-married sexually active young males and females also contributes towards the rapid spread of the virus (Bongaarts 82). This is because none-married young males and females exhibit the highest rates of partner change that contribute significantly towards the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs. Just like the UAE, Saudi Arabia has also recorded declines in the number of early marriages. Increasing participation of women in social life has contributed immensely to the reduction in the total fertility growth in the country. Saudi Arabia has also recorded a decline in the number of individuals that enter into marriages before attaining the age of 18 years. There has also been a decline in the number of marriages between males aged at least 30 years and females aged between 20 and 24 years. The new socio-economic trends are responsible for the decline in teenage marriages (Salam 148). The traditional agrarian system supported early marriages in the Arab world. The agricultural system also supported extended families. However, the advent of civilization and the emergence of cities have resulted in individuals working in the industrial and service sectors. The current generation presents Arab youths with higher levels of education as compared to the previous generation. As a result, there is an increasing tendency of Arab women to engage in different economic activities outside their homes. The change has challenged the roles of the traditional Arab woman (Rashad et al. 1). Research Questions Main Research Question What are the impacts of female increased age at marriage on the fertility rate of the Abu Dhabi emirate? Specific Research Questions How many children do families in Abu Dhabi intend to have? At what age do females in Abu Dhabi prefer to get married? What is the impact of delayed marriages on the fertility rate of women in Abu Dhabi? What is the impact of delayed marriages on the health of individuals in Abu Dhabi? Research Methodology The study targets 1000 female respondents in Abu Dhabi. The research intends to collect both epidemiological and demographic data on the target population. Secondary data from official statistics centers in Abu Dhabi will also provide additional information on the research topic including the reference point. Since it is difficult to collect data on the HIV/AIDS pandemic from the respondents, the research will use data from the statistics center to determine the link between demographic and epidemiological statistics. The research targets women within their reproductive age (15-49 years). The research process will involve the collection of data from the respondents and the subsequent recording of the collected data on a wide array of health, behavioral, and demographic topics. The research will also determine the median ages at events for the target group of respondents in events having official records from the statistics center. The research process also entails calculating and smoothing the reported proportions of members of the target group that had experienced an event using a one-year moving average. The age at which the recorded ration clocks 50% is the median age. In accordance with the research questions, the interviews will focus on the impact of the age of marriage on the fertility rate in Abu Dhabi as well as the resultant effects of delayed marriage on the fertility rate and health of Emiratis in Abu Dhabi. The study will also interview respondents on the number of years spent in marriage. Concerning females that are unmarried and within the reproductive age, the research will inquire about the reasons that have contributed to the delay in their marriages. Finally, the research will conduct a panel data analysis of the collected data. The research team will also repeat the survey after one year to validate the data collected from the research process. Project Plan and Budget The project will run for a 3 months period from 5th December, 2016 to 7th February, 2017. The first research activity entails contacting research official institutions for appointments that have already attained a completion status of 15%. The second activity involves developing the survey. The other activities include running the pilot survey, gathering data from official institutions, circulating the survey, gathering the findings, analyzing data, and presenting data to the client. A budget of AED 600,000 is necessary for the successful completion of the project. The figures below show the tasks, duration, budget, and Gantt chart for the research process. Task Start Date # Days Completion Budget (AED) Contact research official institutions for appointments 12/5/16 20 15% 1000 Develop a survey 12/8/16 5 0% 25000 Run a pilot survey 12/12/16 14 0% 50000 Gather data from official institutions 1/3/17 14 0% 100000 Circulate the survey 1/3/17 21 0% 100000 Gather findings (survey + secondary data) 1/25/17 14 0% 219000 Analyse data 1/29/17 15 0% 100000 Present data to the client 2/7/17 40 0% 5000 Figure 1: Gantt chart for the Research Process Challenges and Contingency Plans The confidentiality associated with most of the data targeted by the research process is one of the issues that would affect the research process. As mentioned before, the research process would employ surveys to collect primary data from the respondents on specific topics such as the behavior of the respondents. In the collection of epidemiological data, the research will use median ages to ascertain data confidentiality. The fact that most of the interview questions are sensitive implies that openness and honesty in answering the survey questions would pose a significant challenge to the quality of data collected in the research process. The most efficient contingency plan for the challenge entails providing assurance to respondents regarding the confidentiality of the collected data. The study will also use the correct wording in the survey questions. In order to validate the recorded responses for each question, the research process will use more than one question for each objective. Conclusion The changing socio-economic trends in the Arabian countries and other parts of the world have delayed marriages thereby having an adverse effect on the fertility rate of females. The traditional agrarian system supported early marriages and extended families. However, industrialization and the development of formal education has compelled women to take part in paying jobs in the service and industrial sectors outside their homesteads thereby leading to delayed marriages and declining fertility rates. Rather than affecting the population growth negatively, there is an association between late marriages and negative health abnormalities such as Down syndrome among infants. The research aims at determining the impact of first marriage age on the fertility rate in Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE emirates. The research intends to conduct a survey on 1000 females within their reproductive ages (15-49 years). The research process will take place over a period of three months using a budget of AED 600,000. Works Cited Al Awad, M and Chartouni, C. Explaining the Decline in Fertility among Citizens of the GCC Countries: the Case of the UAE. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 7.2 (2014): 82-97. Alibeli, M A. The Effect of Education, Employment, and Income on Reproductive Attitudes and Behavior of United Arab Emirates Married Women. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 13.1 (2014): 227-245. Al-Jenaibi, B. The needs and priorities of women in the UAE: identifying struggles and enhancing satisfaction of employment, education, health care, and rights. Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 2.3 (2015): 238-268. Bongaarts, John. "Late marriage and the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa." Population studies 61.1 (2007): 73-83. Karamat, Kelani. "Perceptions on Implications of Delayed Marriage: A Case Study of Married Adults in Kuala Lumpur." International Journal of Social Science and Humanity 6.8 (2016): 572. Rashad, Hoda, Magued Osman, and Farzaneh Roudi-Fahimi. Marriage in the Arab world. Population reference bureau (PRB), (2005). Read More