Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Child Marriage: Can Access To Media Discourage The Practice In South Asia?, Angela O'Neill, Sven Wilson

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

In this paper, we explore a possible role for the media to facilitate social change through international and domestic politics even when political will may be lacking. Using data from national health surveys in two South Asian countries, we find that frequent reading of the newspaper is associated with higher ages at marriage among women in all of the countries surveyed. Further research is necessary to determine the types of programs and degree of openness for the other forms of media in each of the countries.