Patterns and Factors Influencing Entry into First Marital Union in Nairobi, Kenya

Anne Khasakhala, University of Nairobi

This paper examines patterns and underlying factors that may have influenced entry into first marital union for three generations spanning from the 1970s to 1990s.The data was obtained from the urban integration survey conducted in Nairobi, Kenya in 2001. Event history methodology more specifically Cox proportional hazards model stratified by generational age and done separately for each sex was used for analysis. The results indicate a delay in entry into first marital union by generation and sex. The delay was more pronounced in Nairobi than for Kenya as a whole and was more noticeable among the males and within the middle and young generations aged below 45 years in 2001. The results further indicate that in terms of the factors that may have influenced the observed patterns, these differed by sex. One may ask whether this could be a response to the economic crisis of the late 1970s onwards?