In many species, females and males form long‐term mating bonds, but marriage—and especially arranged marriage—are uniquely human traits. While marriage practices impact many cultural phenomena, they also can have evolutionary (i.e., fitness) consequences. Strongly felt but not necessarily conscious mating preferences presumably evolved because they provide fitness benefits compared to random mating, and this prediction has been supported by experimental animal studies. Arranged marriage might similarly reduce fitness in humans, but only if parents regularly choose different mates for their offspring than offspring would choose for themselves. Here we report a broad ethnographic survey exploring whether parents and offspring disagree over partner choice in arranged marriages. Using the Human Relations Area Files, we reviewed 543 ethnographies to assess the relative frequencies of parent–offspring agreement and disagreement over partner choice, the reasons for disagreement, and the outcomes of disagreement. In all world areas, parents and offspring overwhelmingly choose different partners. Parents and offspring disagreed over fitness‐relevant traits of the potential spouse, and both parties sometimes used extreme methods to influence outcomes. These findings suggest that arranged marriages may be useful for studying the effects of mate choice in humans and for assessing the unique dynamics of human mating systems. [parent–offspring conflict, mate choice, cross‐cultural]

Background: A global campaign to eradicate ‘child marriage’ (<18 years) increasingly targets governments, the private sector and the general public as agents of change. Here, we measure the current state of public knowledge of child marriage, identifying potential misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs. We then consider the implications of our survey for global health initiatives addressing child marriage. Methods: We surveyed USA nationals via the online survey platform MTurk. Participants provided sociodemographic information and answered ten questions about their understanding of child marriage. To identify potential misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs we present descriptive statistics for participant responses paired with correct answers where available. Results: 609 participants provided data for analysis. 59% were women, with a mean age of 37 years, just over half (55%) were university educated, and the majority (79%) were currently employed. Half of those surveyed mistakenly believed that the cut-off for child marriage is younger than the legal threshold of 18 years, and nearly three-quarters incorrectly believed that most child marriages occur at 15 years or below (child marriage primarily takes place in later adolescence). The large majority of participants incorrectly believed that child marriage is illegal throughout the United States (it’s illegal in only two states), and mistakenly believed that child marriage primarily takes place among Muslim-majority regions of the Middle East and North Africa (it is most common in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia). Participants tended to substantially overestimate the prevalence of child marriage in both the USA and abroad. Conclusions: These findings suggest that public understanding of child marriage is not only poor, but also shaped by wider misperceptions of both relatively high and low-income nations. Organizations seeking to empower girls and young women by reducing child marriage need to be cautious of these misunderstandings, and wary of the potential for their own activities to seed misinformation. For example, we suggest the terminology ‘child marriage’, as opposed to ‘teen marriage’ or ‘adolescent marriage’, may contribute to widespread confusion about the typical ages at which child marriages occur.

Global efforts to eradicate 'child marriage' (<18 years) increasingly target governments, the private sector and the general public as agents of change. However, understanding of child marriage may be subject to popular misconceptions, particularly because of ambiguity in the age threshold implied by the term 'child', and because awareness campaigns routinely emphasize extreme scenarios of very young girls forcibly married to much older men. Here, we ascertain public knowledge of child marriage via an online survey. Half of those surveyed mistakenly believed that the cutoff for child marriage is younger than the threshold of 18 years, and nearly three-quarters incorrectly believed that most child marriages occur at 15 years or below (it primarily occurs in later adolescence). Most participants also incorrectly believed that child marriage is illegal throughout the USA (it's illegal in only 4/50 states), substantially overestimated its global prevalence, and mistakenly believed that it primarily takes place among Muslim-majority world regions. Our results highlight important popular misconceptions of child marriage that may ultimately undermine global health goals and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Organizations seeking to empower women by reducing child marriage should be cautious of these misunderstandings, and wary of the potential for their own activities to seed misinformation.

Background: A global campaign to eradicate ‘child marriage’ (<18 years) increasingly targets governments, the private sector and the general public as agents of change. Here, we measure the current state of public knowledge of child marriage, identifying potential misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs. We then consider the implications of our survey for global health initiatives addressing child marriage.Methods: We surveyed USA nationals via the online survey platform MTurk. Participants provided sociodemographic information and answered ten questions about their understanding of child marriage. To identify potential misconceptions and inaccurate beliefs we present descriptive statistics for participant responses paired with correct answers where available.Results: 609 participants provided data for analysis. 59% were women, with a mean age of 37 years, just over half (55%) were university educated, and the majority (79%) were currently employed. Half of those surveyed mistakenly believed that the cut-off for child marriage is younger than the legal threshold of 18 years, and nearly three-quarters incorrectly believed that most child marriages occur at 15 years or below (child marriage primarily takes place in later adolescence). The large majority of participants incorrectly believed that child marriage is illegal throughout the United States (it’s illegal in only two states), and mistakenly believed that child marriage primarily takes place among Muslim-majority regions of the Middle East and North Africa (it is most common in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia). Participants tended to substantially overestimate the prevalence of child marriage in both the USA and abroad.Conclusions: These findings suggest that public understanding of child marriage is not only poor, but also shaped by wider misperceptions of both relatively high and low-income nations. Organizations seeking to empower girls and young women by reducing child marriage need to be cautious of these misunderstandings, and wary of the potential for their own activities to seed misinformation. For example, we suggest the terminology ‘child marriage’, as opposed to ‘teen marriage’ or ‘adolescent marriage’, may contribute to widespread confusion about the typical ages at which child marriages occur.

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