Marriage, Sex, and the First Birth Interval: The Quiet Revolution in Asia

Citation

Rindfuss, Ronald R. & Morgan, S. Philip (1983). Marriage, Sex, and the First Birth Interval: The Quiet Revolution in Asia. Population and Development Review, 9(2), 259-278.

Abstract

This paper presents evidence of a remarkable increase in the proportion of early marital conceptions in several Asian societies. A number of potential social-demographic explanations for this trend--such as later age at marriage, improved nutritional levels, and changes in breastfeeding and contraceptive behavior--are examined and found wanting. Such increases are attributed instead to an increase in the rate of coital frequency within the first few months of marriage. Ethnographic illustrations are cited to support the contention that greater coital frequency is the result of the movement from traditionally arranged marriages toward those that are romantically arranged.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1973052

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

1983

Journal Title

Population and Development Review

Author(s)

Rindfuss, Ronald R.
Morgan, S. Philip