The minimum marriageable age policy process in the United States: An advocacy coalition framework analysis.
Early marriage—defined as marriage before age 18—has been shown to constitute a major obstacle to women's development with negative impacts on their health, education, and economic development. For several decades, the issue has been a major topic of global policy discussions with organizations like...
| Published in: | Review of Policy Research Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 1 - 27 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Jan2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=191182831&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 191182831 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 1541132X MJJ jtl: Review of Policy Research issn: 1541132X maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jan2026 vid: 43 iid: 1 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 191182831 10.1111/ropr.70013 ppf: 1 ppct: 26 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: C – @attributes: type: P size: 1.6MB tig: atl: The minimum marriageable age policy process in the United States: An advocacy coalition framework analysis. aug: au: Ikpebe, Ene affil: Askew School of Administration and Policy, Florida State University, Tallahassee Florida, , USA su: United States Marriage age Discourse analysis Policy sciences Human rights Child marriage Advocacy coalition framework Women in development sug: subj: Marriage age Discourse analysis Policy sciences Human rights Child marriage United States Advocacy coalition framework Women in development keyword: advocacy coalition framework child marriage discourse network analysis minimum marriageable age policy Análisis de Redes Discursivas Estados Unidos Marco de la Coalición de Defensa Matrimonio Infantil Política sobre la Edad Mínima para Contraer Matrimonio 倡导联盟框架 最低结婚年龄政策 童婚 美国 话语网络分析 advocacy coalition framework child marriage discourse network analysis minimum marriageable age policy Análisis de Redes Discursivas Estados Unidos Marco de la Coalición de Defensa Matrimonio Infantil Política sobre la Edad Mínima para Contraer Matrimonio 倡导联盟框架 最低结婚年龄政策 童婚 美国 话语网络分析 ab: Early marriage—defined as marriage before age 18—has been shown to constitute a major obstacle to women's development with negative impacts on their health, education, and economic development. For several decades, the issue has been a major topic of global policy discussions with organizations like the United Nations advocating for global adoption of a minimum marriageable age of 18. However, for almost all this period, American policy discussions have not reflected a similar prioritization of the issue of early marriage; Delaware was the first state to adopt the policy in 2018. Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), this paper examines the development of the minimum marriageable age policy discussion in the United States. With Discourse Network Analysis (DNA) of newspaper articles, the study identifies the major actors, coalitions, and beliefs that have featured in this policy process. The analysis suggests that NGOs and state legislators have been the main policy actors, and that they can be organized into pro and anti‐minimum‐marriageable‐age‐of‐18 coalitions. Results also show that the deep core beliefs that have featured in the policy discussion boil down to the American ideal of liberty, in this case, of individuals to marry, to exercise their reproductive and religious rights, of parents to decide when their children are ready for marriage, and to not suffer violation of other human rights. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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