This study examined the nature and correlates of child marriage in eight villages in climate-affected coastal Bangladesh using a mixed-methods approach: focus group discussions and in-depth qualitative interviews of female victims of child marriage as well as quantitative data collected using structured interviews of households. More than two-thirds of the qualitative survey respondents had encountered at least one event of natural disaster before marriage. Quantitative data confirmed significantly higher exposure to flood and river erosion among the coastal population. The quantitative data also suggested a positive association between shocks related to climate events and the incidence of child marriage, while the qualitative data indicated multiple themes related to the causes of child marriage, such as economic vulnerability, coping with risk and patriarchal norms. Yet the qualitative study respondents did not directly refer to natural disasters and climate changes when narrating their marital histories. The qualitative and quantitative evidence does not suggest that dowry-related factors are leading to early marriage. Rather, child marriage appears to be a coping strategy adopted by households in response to their increased vulnerability to natural disasters.

Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, an actor-partner interdependence model explored change in the frequency of disagreements and marital outcomes among 796 paired couples, early in marriage. Disagreements about money, time spent together, and the sexual relationship increased over 5 years. Money disagreements predicted disagreements about time and sex for husbands. Spillover findings showed disagreements about money and sex were related negatively to marital satisfaction. Disagreements in all three areas predicted marital instability for husbands, although only disagreements about money and time predicted marital instability for wives. Crossover findings showed husbands’ disagreements about money to be related negatively to wives’ marital satisfaction. Implications of the current findings are discussed.