Peer-reviewed article
A Social-Ecological Model to Explore Multi-Faceted Drivers of Child Marriage: An Iterative Qualitative Study in Southern Bangladesh
Md Abul Kalam, Chowdhury Abdullah Al Asif, Shirin Afroz, Mai-Anh Hoang, Kyly C. Whitfield et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study in southern Bangladesh examined why child marriage occurs using a social-ecological model framework. Researchers conducted focus groups and interviews with adolescent girls, parents, and community leaders to identify drivers of child marriage at individual, family, community, and institutional levels. The study found that child marriage is driven by interconnected factors including girls' limited agency, household poverty, harmful community norms around girls' sexuality and honor, and weak enforcement of laws against child marriage.
Key points
- Individual-level drivers include girls' limited agency, lower educational performance, and self-initiated marriage in some cases
- Family-level drivers include household poverty, parents' lack of awareness about harms of child marriage, and preference for marrying off daughters
- Community-level drivers include norms about ideal brides, control over girls' sexuality and mobility, fear of violence, and religious interpretations
- Institutional drivers include weak law enforcement, limited economic opportunities for girls, and school closures during COVID-19
- Interventions need to address multiple levels simultaneously, including changing norms, raising awareness, poverty alleviation, and economic opportunity for girls
Limitations
This qualitative study cannot measure the prevalence or relative strength of different drivers of child marriage, nor can it establish causation. The findings are specific to southern Bangladesh and may not generalize to other regions or contexts.
Abstract
Despite national priorities, legal reforms, and increased investment in interventions, child marriage (CM) remains a significant public health risk, leading to violence, intergenerational nutritional depletion, and poor health outcomes in Bangladesh. Using the social-ecological model (SEM), this iterative qualitative study aimed to understand the drivers of CM at the individual, familial, social/community, and institutional levels to inform policy and programs. A total of 29 focus group discussions (with community members, married and unmarried adolescent girls, and their parents and grandmothers), 44 in-depth interviews (with married and unmarried adolescent girls, and their parents), and 10 key informants' interviews (influential community leaders) were conducted. Findings were drawn through thematic analysis employing both inductive and deductive coding. Identified CM drivers are aligned with the SEM framework. Girls' agency, collective efficacy, self-initiated marriage, and educational performance were individual-level drivers. Family-associated drivers were household poverty, parents' lack of awareness, and intra-household gendered preferences. Social/community drivers include norms about the "ideal" bride, girls' readiness for marriage, control over girls' sexuality and mobility, fear of violence, family honor, and religious norms. Weak enforcement to prevent CM, limited opportunities for girls, ecological conditions, and long school closures during COVID-19 were key institutional drivers. Findings suggest CM drivers are interconnected across levels of the SEM, implying the need for multi-level interventions. Coordinated efforts to reduce CM may include addressing the harmful CM norms and systemic factors leading to CM, raising community awareness about the adverse outcomes of CM, and offering poverty alleviation and economic opportunities for girls.