Pune: 40% Women Cite Family Disapproval As Reason For Not Having Relationship; A Study Report On Youth Transition

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Shail Shukla

Pune, February 18, 2021: The Youth in Transition study conducted by Prayas (Health Group) Pune revealed that parents’ disapproval of relationships, either actual or perceived, plays a significant factor in young people’s relationship decisions. This actual or perceived disapproval could restrict young people from not engaging in a relationship. Almost 40% of women cited family disapproval as a reason for not having a relationship and also for breaking the relationship.

The study was conducted among never married, educated youth living in Pune between 20 and 29 years of age. A total of 1240 participants were enrolled in the study. Of which 653 were men, 584 were women, and 3 participants marked their gender as ‘other.’ The study focused on never-married youth because, in the Indian context, sex is often linked with marriage. The sexual health needs of unmarried youth remain unaddressed. It has taken a broader perspective of sexual health beyond the mere absence of diseases. The study referred to sexual health as a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social wellbeing in relation to sexuality.

60% of the women reported their first relationship before the age of 18, and 40% of the women had their first relationship when they were in school (before 16 years of age). The study further revealed that Over 50% of the participants reported that they experienced emotional abuse from the partner at some time. These experiences were significantly higher among women compared to men. About 35% of the participants have reported experiences of sexual abuse.

According to the study, almost 80% of the participants had a relationship some time or other due to peer pressure. Overall, 76% [84% women and 70% men] of the participants reported having at least one relationship. Of the total participants, 167 (26%) men and 88 (15%) women reported that they never had a relationship.

There appears to be a gender difference in the reasons for not being in a relationship. More men reported that they did not find a partner compared to women (30% vs. 17%). For women, the most common reason was conservative family background (41%), where they knew that their family members would not tolerate it if they found out about it. There were 16% of the men and 19% of the women who said that they did not want to be in a relationship.

The previous relationships’ outcome has a significant role in determining the next relationship’s nature. As people moved on to new relationships, the duration of the relationship decreased, especially from the 4th relationship onwards. For example, the median duration of 1st relationship was 16 months; 2nd was 14 months; 3rd was 17 months; 4 was 12 months, and 5th onwards was nine months each. A similar trend was observed among men and women and for serious and non-serious relationships. According to the study, almost 75-80% of people entered into a new relationship after a relationship ends.

For each of the relationships that lasted for more than a month, The study found that Physical intimacy is common irrespective of the type of relationship, and Non-serious relationships were common among youth. 40% of relationships among women and 45% among men were non-serious.

There is a significant gender difference in reporting physical intimacy in short relationships. 42% of the women and 69% of the men reported having a physical relationship in a short relationship. There was no statistically significant difference between the number of short relationships among men and women. 192 men and 156 women reported at least one short-intimate encounter. Of the 192 men, 30 had encounters exclusively with sex workers, and 18 had encounters with sex workers as well as non-sex worker partners.

Four predominant typologies of relationships were observed

Commitment- No Sex: Majority of the participants are in a committed relationship for the most period and do not engage in penetrative sex. This cluster can be considered as of people who typically say that they would have penetrative sex “only after marriage,” which largely is the social norm. Fifteen percent of the total participants were grouped in this cluster.

Commitment-Sex-Some exploration: Unlike the first cluster, in the second cluster majority of the participants are in a committed relationship for the most part of the period and choose to engage in penetrative sex. One can also observe that some people in this cluster also engage in non-committed relationships and also have multiple parallel relationships. However, the duration of the committed relationship dominates the cluster. Fifteen percent of the total participants were grouped in this cluster.

No Commitment-Exploration: There is no clear pattern in this cluster except that it is dominated by people who are in non-committal relationships, with and without sexual relationships. The cluster can be considered of those who are exploring different kinds of relationships in their life, which goes beyond committed relationships. Twenty-three percent of the total participants were grouped in this cluster.

The majority of the people in this cluster are not in a relationship, some by choice and others because they could not find a partner. It also includes people who had a relationship for some time, then never went into another relationship, and hence remain uninvolved for most of the period. Those who had a relationship started it relatively late. Forty-seven percent of the total participants were grouped in this cluster.

It is also observed that women compared to men were significantly more likely to follow the ‘No Commitment-Exploration’ trajectory. Similarly, the post-millennial generation (Gen Z) was substantially more likely to follow the ‘No Commitment-Exploration’ course than the millennial generation.

Prayas (Initiatives in Health, Energy, Learning, and Parenthood) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization based in Pune, India. Prayas Health Group (PHG) is committed to generating evidence-based discourse on emerging issues on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). PHG is actively involved in socio-behavioural and epidemiological research, awareness building, programmatic interventions, and provision of clinical and counselling services.