The concept of marriage squeeze expects a positive association between marriage formation and the availability of preferred mates. Previous research to test the hypothesis has had mixed results owing to inconsistent marriage measures, inconsistent age focuses and insufficient attention to migration. This study derives kinetics equations of marriage formation to link cohort age-specific mate availability to migration-adjusted marriage rate/incidence, a measure in contrast to nominal marriage rate. On testing the equations with Japanese census data for 1920–1940, it is found that, in female cohorts, mate availability impacts first marriage rate at the life-course stage from 15–19 to 20–24 years, but not at later stages. Among young females, the decline in mate availability accounted for about 21% of the decline in first marriage rate over the period 1920–1940, when there was a trend towards later but not less marriage in Japan. The study suggests that the flexibility of mate/spouse choice in females varies along the marriageable life course and is more manifest at older ages. At young ages, however, the marriage squeeze hypothesis could hold, presumably because young women are evolutionarily shaped to be choosier, perhaps postponing their marriages when preferred mates are in short supply.

Using Taiwanese data, this study finds that tall males are more successful in mate selection and reproduction, but the results are weakly significant. Height is not helpful for females’ reproductive success. Specifically, tall males are more likely to have a partner at present or in the past, have at least one child, have more children, have a shorter period of celibacy and have a longer time duration of living with a partner in their lifetime. Using mediation analysis, the study shows that tall males’ reproductive success is not due to their achievements in the labour market (earnings), but is simply due to their height per se. Finally, a college student data set is used to explore the relation between height and dating hours. Tall male students have more dating hours, but no relation is found between females’ height and dating hours.

This study was carried out by the Turkish Republic Ministry of Health to determine the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and its correlates with socio-demographic and obstetric risk factors in women in Turkey. The cross-sectional, national-level study was carried out from October to December 2013. The study population was composed of women between the ages of 15 and 65 years living in Turkey. The sample size was calculated as 9290 houses within Turkey’s 81 provinces so as to improve the Turkish rural–urban expectations by means of systematic stack sampling according to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s address-based vital statistics system. The target sample size was 6364, but only eligible 4913 women, who had been married, were included in the study. The consanguineous marriage frequency in the sample was found to be 18.5%, and of these 57.8% were first cousin marriages. Women living in an extended family and whose education level and first marriage ages were low, and whose perceived economic status was poor, had higher frequencies of consanguineous marriage (p<0.001). Consanguineous marriage frequencies were higher (p<0.001) for women who had spontaneous abortions and stillbirths or who had given birth to infants with a congenital abnormality. In this context, it is important to develop national policies and strategies to prevent consanguineous marriages in Turkey.

Over 2 million abortions occur annually in Pakistan, mostly in a clandestine and unsafe environment. This is an area of grave concern for the reproductive health of women. A dearth of credible data and incomplete information make the problem more difficult to address. This qualitative study was conducted in semi-urban settings in Pakistan to record perceptions and practices concerning care seeking, experiences and outcomes regarding induced abortions and post-abortion care services. Women who had had induced abortions and abortion service providers were interviewed. Unwanted pregnancies and poverty were found to be the main reasons for seeking an abortion. Moreover, the unwanted pregnancies occurred due to low use of contraceptives, mainly due to a fear or past experience of their side-effects, unfamiliarity with correct usage and perceived inefficacy of the methods, especially condoms. There is an obvious need for practical and innovative interventions to address unmet need for birth spacing through improved access to contraceptives. Contraceptive providers should be provided with up-to-date and detailed training in family planning counselling, and perhaps allowed unrestricted provision of contraceptives. As a long-term measure, improvement in access to education and formal schooling could increase young girls’ and women’s knowledge of the benefits of family planning and the risks of unsafe abortion practices. Males must be involved in all the initiatives so that both partners are in agreement on correct and consistent contraceptive use.

This study examined the relation between waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and triceps skin-fold thickness and percentage body fat in young Syrian men. The aim was to develop equations that can use these anthropometric characteristics to estimate percentage body fat in this group of subjects. A total of 2470 healthy Syrian men aged 18–19 years were enrolled in the study in 2010–2011. The anthropometric characteristics of all subjects were measured. The percentage body fat of 213 of the subjects was determined using the deuterium dilution (DD) technique as a reference method. The validity of using WC, HC, WHpR and WHtR to calculate percentage body fat, in comparison with the reference method (DD technique), was assessed by calculating biases and limits of agreement. The estimates of percentage body fat using ‘WC’ and ‘WC with triceps skin-fold’ measurements ranged from 13.00±5.56% to 14.55±8.63%, and were lower than those determined using the reference method (21.32±6.42%). A better prediction equation is proposed for young adults, based on a multiple linear regression model using WC, HC and WHtR.

The ratio of second-to-fourth digit length (2D:4D), which is generally higher in women compared with men, is a putative marker of prenatal testosterone (PT) exposure. Lower 2D:4D is linked with greater physical ability and strength, better sporting performance and a propensity towards jobs demanding greater physical ability. The objectives of this paper were to examine the sexual dimorphism in 2D:4D in both hands 1and compare this dimorphism in the students of military and civil courses at the General Kuściuszko Military Academy of Land Forces in Wrocław. The cross-sectional study compared 59 female and 118 male students from the military courses and 53 females and 64 male students from the civil courses. Besides calculating 2D:4D (2D/4D) for each hand, height and weight were also recorded. Physical fitness and endurance were assessed using Eurofit tests. Handgrip strength was measured using a standardized isometric dynamometer. In almost all physical tests, students in the military cohort showed highly significant greater physical ability and strength (e.g. handgrip strength) when compared with the civil cohort. Male participants had a significantly lower 2D:4D than females for each hand, as well as for the average value for both hands. The sexual dimorphism was, however, a little more pronounced in the right hand than in the left. Both sex and course type were significant predictors of 2D:4D. There were significant interactions between sex and the student type. Among females, but not in males, the military cohort had a significantly lower, i.e. more ‘masculine’, 2D:4D for the left hand and right hand and average for both hands (t=3.290, p<0.001) than the civil cohort. This was not the case in males. However, the sex difference in 2D:4D was only significant among the civil students, and not among the military cadets. In conclusion, higher PT exposure, as represented by a lower 2D:4D, among the Polish females might be an indicator of relatively increased physical ability and motivation to choose professions that require higher strength and endurance.

It is important to consider the complexities of family dynamics when deciding when and how to communicate with HIV-infected children about their illness and treatment. Previous research has focused on providers’ and caregivers’ perspectives on whether, when and how to disclose HIV/AIDS diagnosis and treatment to HIV-infected children. From the perspective of HIV-infected children, communication does not mean just giving information about illness and treatment, but also encompasses emotional and material care. This paper places communication within the broader framework of caregiving in family situations. This exploratory study was conducted in Jinja district, Uganda, between November 2011 and December 2012. Through participant observation and in-depth interviews, communication by, and with, HIV-infected children in the context of family situations was explored from the perspectives of 29 HIV-infected children aged 8–17 years on antiretroviral therapy (ART) using content thematic analysis. Children’s communication with caregivers about their illness and treatment varied depending on whom they were living with and the nature of caregiving. Although a mother’s care was considered best, children described others who cared ‘like a mother’. For some, caregiving was distributed among several relatives and non-relatives, while others felt they had hardly anyone to care for them. Caregiving from the children’s perspective involved emotional support, expressed verbally and explicitly in messages of concern, encouragement conveyed in reminders to take medicines, attention when sick and confidential conversations about the challenges of having HIV and taking ART. Caregiving was also communicated implicitly in acts of provision of food/drinks to take with medicines, counting pills to confirm they had taken the medicines and accompanying children to treatment centres. Children’s communication about their health and medicines and the care they received was to a large extent shaped by the nature of their relatedness to their caregivers, the extent to which caregiving was dispersed among several people and who else in the household was infected with HIV and on medication.

This study aimed to investigate the regional variations in the prevalence of child marriage in Bangladesh with a view to providing recommendations for division-specific policy interventions. Data from the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey were analysed using multivariate logistic regression. Substantial regional variations in child marriage were found in Bangladesh. Rangpur and Khulna had more than four times higher odds of child marriage than Sylhet (4.57 and 4.11 times, respectively). Barisal and Rajshahi had more than three times higher odds of child marriage than Sylhet (3.70 and 3.48 times, respectively). Chittagong and Dhaka had about two times odds of child marriage than Sylhet (1.98 and 2.67 times, respectively), even after controlling for selected socio-demographic, economic and cultural characteristics. Respondent’s education, employment status, husband’s education and wealth index were inversely associated with the prevalence of child marriage. The policy implications of these findings are discussed in the context of Bangladesh.