Kriti Vikram, National University of Singapore
| When |
Apr 13, 2026
from 12:00 PM to 01:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Where | 2208 LeFrak / Online |
| Contact Name | Jennifer Doiron |
| Contact Phone | 301-405-6403 |
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About the Presentation
Child marriage is associated with adverse maternal and child health outcomes and substantial social costs, yet its long-term consequences for health and survival beyond the reproductive years remain insufficiently understood for women. Furthermore, limited evidence exists regarding the health outcomes of men who marry as children. This study utilizes nearly two decades of longitudinal data from Mexico and Indonesia, focusing on adults aged 50 and older, to examine whether marriage before age 18 influences later-life health and mortality. We compare individuals married before 18 with those married at older ages and employ sequential models that adjust for background characteristics and potential mediators. In both countries, men and women who married as children exhibited higher mortality in later life. In Mexico, the increased mortality risk among women was fully explained by the pathways, whereas the association for men was only partially mediated. In Indonesia, these pathways had minimal impact on the association for either sex. These findings indicate that child marriage is a determinant of mortality for women well beyond the reproductive period and for men across contexts, underscoring its importance as an
underrecognized factor shaping health and survival in LMICs.
About the Speaker
Kriti Vikram is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and serves as Co-Director of the Centre for Family and Population Research at the National University of Singapore. Her research investigates how inequality is generated in the early stages of life and its long-term health consequences in low- and middle-income countries. She focuses on three interrelated areas: 1) the role of families in shaping children’s health and academic achievement in India; 2) the integration of life-course perspectives into the study of child development, with a particular emphasis on gendered processes; and 3) the long-term health consequences of early-life adversities and challenges faced by girls and women. Kriti Vikram earned her PhD in Sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Seminar Format
Location IN PERSON: 2208 LeFrak Hall. We are requesting advanced registration so that we can track capacity. Please use this link to RSVP for in-person attendance.
Location ONLINE VIA ZOOM: Zoom Registration Link. Upon registration, you will receive an automatically generated email with the direct link for the seminar.
If accommodations are needed, please send request to meeting organizer (mprc-support@umd.edu) at least 72 hours prior to the event, if possible, to allow time to discuss and implement alternatives.
MPRC public events for Spring 2026 will be a mix of in person and online via Zoom. For in person events, all event attendees must follow current protocols.