Mate Selection and Its Impact on Female Marriage Age, Pregnancy Wastages, and First child Survival in Tamil Nadu India

摘要

Marriage in Indian society is a religious duty. Consanguineous marriage is common, where individuals prefer to marry within their clan (a unilateral kin group based on either matri- lineal or patrilineal descent).Keeping in mind that this form of marriage has certain disadvan- tages for social and biological as well as demographic aspects of individuals and families, the present study examines the influence of mate selection(i.e., close relatives, distant relatives, not related) on female age at marriage, pregnancy wastages, and survival status of the first child.