The Nexus between Early Marriage and Repeat Adolescent Pregnancy in Kenya: Evidence from the 2022 KDHS - Working Paper

Christabel GERO, University of Milano Bicocca

Adolescent pregnancy is a major social and public health issue in developing countries. This study sought to understand the interlinkage between the occurrence of repeat adolescent pregnancy and early marriage among adolescent girls who have undergone repeat pregnancy during adolescence in Kenya. The main data source was the 2022 KDHS dataset, and the study sample women aged 15-24 years. The analysis was based on the number of pregnancies experienced by the sample of women during adolescence period. Repeat adolescent pregnancy prevalence was computed based on pregnancy history data available in the dataset. Descriptive mapping of the incidences of early marriage and rapid repeat adolescent pregnancy within the 47 counties was performed using ggplot package in R software. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the direct and indirect relationship between early marriage and repeat adolescent pregnancy occurrences in Kenya. 12% of the women in the sample were married before 18 years, and 5.2% of all adolescent pregnancies were repeat pregnancies. The structural equation model established a bidirectional impact between early marriage and repeat adolescent pregnancy in Kenya. Policies and programs should be realigned to equally address both early marriage and repeat adolescent pregnancy.

Keywords: Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Structural equation modelling , Geo-referenced/geo-coded data, Fertility

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