-->PONE-D-25-40714-->-->The Interplay of Economic Shocks and Cultural Practices on Child Marriage: Comparative Evidence from India and Zambia during the COVID-19 Pandemic-->-->PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Steinert,

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers’ comments:

Reviewer’s Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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-->5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: Although the manuscript is well written, there are a few places where either because it seems it was written at the time of COVID-19, or because the description needs better or more explanation, the authors should re-write and improve the descriptions for better understanding by the reader.

The second issue is that the format used for writing is different from the one used by PLOS ONE. It should be the Vancouver style, citing by numbers and without endnotes.

Reviewer #2: This is a comprehensive and important study. Your methods provided a breadth of data. It a useful study to inform policy on future economic shocks and the impact on child marriage.

There are a number of grammatical errors and a lack of citations in some areas:

pg 1 line 43 needs citation

Some areas are vague - eg use of word ’many’ page two line 56

Line 67 page 2 - meaning unclear. Line 68 - vague - what sort of marriage trends? Figures?

Pg 4 line 126 - vague -where is this based. Line 136 - avoid words like ’poorer’ - resource poor?

Pg 5 line 167 - whose awareness?

pg 6 line 170 - evidence of stigma?

Pg 7 line 216 avoid use of words ’developing countries’ - majority world countries?

Line225 - evidence of ’methodological thin’ - also strange expression

Line 248 - why are they conceptual?

249 - make the difference between dowry and brideprice clear. Make clear that Brideprice itself isn’t problematic but it is if it encourages child marriage.

Line 329 avoid the gendered term ’headmasters’

333 - define random walk procedure - where has this been done previously? Cite?

339 - unclear sentence

558 - typo - could?

More generally, I would like to see the conceptual framework referred to at the onset of the paper referred to in greater depth in the discussion.

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-->6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes: Dr. Alfredo L. Fort

Reviewer #2: Yes: Dr Sally Bashford-Squires

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: PONE-D-25-40714_reviewer-AF.pdf

Attachment

Submitted filename: PONE-D-25-40714_reviewer.pdf

The Interplay of Economic Shocks and Cultural Practices in Child Marriage: Comparative Evidence from India and Zambia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

PONE-D-25-40714R1

Dear Dr. Steinert,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Kasi Eswarappa

Academic Editor

PLOS One

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Our best wishes.

Reviewers’ comments:

Reviewer’s Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.-->

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

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-->2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

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-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: The authors have carefully and with detail addressed the comments made by reviewers. I believe the article is ready for publication, however looking at a few very minor areas that the publishers will review at such time. Thanks.

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-->7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes: Dr. Alfredo L Fort, MD, MSc, PhD

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