Peer-reviewed article
Characteristics of adolescents requiring forensic assessment regarding early marriage: A descriptive study on clinical diagnosis and physical aggression
Mahmut Almbaidheen, Bahadır Turan ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined 115 adolescent girls aged over 15 in Turkey who were referred to court for early marriage assessments. Nearly 29% had psychiatric diagnoses, with adjustment disorder being the most common. The research found that longer marriage duration, greater age differences between spouses, and older spouse age were associated with both psychiatric diagnosis and physical abuse. The study suggests that understanding these adolescents' characteristics can inform policies supporting their education and development.
Key points
- 28.7% of adolescents referred for early marriage had a psychiatric diagnosis
- Adjustment disorder was the most frequently diagnosed condition (12.2%)
- Significant relationship found between marriage duration and psychiatric diagnosis
- Significant relationship found between age difference with spouse and physical abuse
- Mean education level was 5.41±1.7 years, indicating limited schooling
Limitations
This is a descriptive study with no control group, so it cannot establish causation or whether psychiatric symptoms preceded or resulted from early marriage. The study only includes adolescents referred for forensic assessment, not all adolescents in early marriage, limiting generalizability.
Abstract
Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical, sociodemographic, and physical abuse-related factors of adolescents who are referred by the court to child and adolescent psychiatry clinics for early marriage. Methods: A total of 115 adolescent girls aged over 15 years were included in the study. Sociodemographic information was obtained with the information forms prepared by the interviewer. Participants were also subjected to psychometric evaluation by psychologists and social review by social workers. Results: Of these children with a mean education year of 5.41±1.7, 28.7% had a psychiatric diagnosis. The most frequently diagnosed psychiatric disorder was adjustment disorder (12.2%). There was a significant relationship between the duration of the marriage and the age difference between them and having a psychiatric diagnosis. Moreover, there is a significant difference between the age of the spouse and the age difference and physical abuse. Conclusion: To have comprehensive knowledge of the characteristics of adolescents who are married early can provide insight into the development of systems and policies that support the development of education, knowledge, and skills of these adolescents.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- forensic assessment by child and adolescent psychiatry clinics including psychometric evaluation and social review
- Population
- 115 adolescent girls aged over 15 years referred by court for early marriage assessment in Turkey
Key finding
28.7% had a psychiatric diagnosis