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The CFM addresses a full range of functional domains that are important for child development. The module represents an improvement on the TQSI in that it allows for scaled responses to determine the degree of difficulty, and so can separate out many potential false positives. The module is also preferred over the WG-SS for collecting data on children, first, because most of the questions in the WG-SS are not suitable for children under the age of 5 years, and second, because the WG-SS leaves out important functional domains for children aged 5-17 years, namely those related to developmental disabilities and behavioural issues.

The practice of child marriage has been well-studied among girls, but there has been little information to date about child marriage among boys. This paper presents an analysis of all nationally representative and internationally comparable data on the prevalence of child marriage among boys. Such data are available for 82 countries within the past 10 years, representing 51% of the global population of men. In the countries with data, on average, 4.5% of young men aged 20-24 years were first married or in union before age 18, with a range of values from less than 1% to nearly 30%. Data from all regions show that the practice has become less common compared to 25 years ago. The countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage among boys are geographically diverse and differ from the countries where the practice is most common among girls. Further research is needed on the drivers of the practice and its effects on child grooms.

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Background While the determinants and impacts of child marriage among girls have been well documented, little research exists on the practice among boys. This paper explores the sociodemographic profile of men who married by age 18 and assesses whether they are more or less advantaged than their peers in terms of their sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Methods This analysis used the most recent data from nationally representative household surveys for the 15 countries with the highest prevalence of marriage by age 18 among men aged 20–24 at the time of the survey. The prevalence of child marriage was then explored for the full cohort of men aged 20–49 through descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis. Available reproductive health indicators were explored, comparing men who married during childhood and men who married in adulthood. For the youngest and oldest cohorts, the total number of children fathered and the total ideal number of children were compared based on whether men married by age 18. Results For this subset of countries, the prevalence of child marriage among men aged 20–24 ranges from 8.4 to 27.9%. The practice appears most common among respondents living in the poorest households and in rural areas, and with no education or only primary schooling. Men who married as children appear less likely to have comprehensive knowledge of HIV than their peers who married in adulthood. Little difference among men who married by age 18 and those who married in adulthood was observed regarding knowledge or use of modern methods of contraception. In almost all countries with data, the odds of having fathered three or more children among men aged 20–29 are higher for those who married as children compared to their peers. In four countries, the odds of exceeding one’s ideal family size among men aged 40–49 also appear higher among those who married during childhood compared to men who married at older ages. Conclusion These results highlight the need for further research to identify drivers of the practice and short- and long-term outcomes for men who married during childhood, specifically concerning fatherhood, fertility preferences, and completed family size.