Introduction: Teenage pregnancies is shaped by a mix of cultural, social, and economic factors that vary globally. In some societies, it’s seen as a natural milestone, while in others, it’s a life-altering events, often exacerbated by lack of support and preparation. Adolescent girls face health risks due to physical immaturity and limited healthcare access. Key factors include socioeconomic disadvantages, family dynamics, peer pressure, and educational barriers. In low-income countries, issues like early marriage, malnutrition, and lack of support systems worsen the problem. The WHO reports 11% of births are girls under 20, with 95% in low and middle-income countries. Countries like India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, especially rural areas, report high pregnancy rates, driven by cultural practices like child marriage. In developed countries, teenage pregnancy often relates to balancing child-rearing with education, while in developing countries, it results from teenage pregnancy [1]. Method: The present study is a descriptive study design. A purposive sampling technique was adopted to select samples in the present study. The sample comprises of 60 adolescent girls were selected from Government High School Bagalkot. Written consent was taken from participants for the study. Socio demographic variables, self-structured questionnaire. were used as tool for data collection. The data was analysed by using descriptive and inferential statistical in terms of mean, frequency, distribution, percentage, and chi square. Result: The Percentage wise distribution of knowledge of adolescent girls studying in Government high school Bagalkot scores reveals that out of 60 adolescent girls’ highest percentage (86%) found with poor knowledge, (11%) noticed with average knowledge and in the present study sample shows only (3%) of adolescent girls has good knowledge. The overall knowledge Mean score was 4.2833 with SD 1.9579. Conclusion: This study reveals that the most of the adolescent girl
Varsha Rathod Miss, Dr Praveen S Patil, Ms. Yashoda et al.
Striking gender gaps persist in fundamental aspects of human welfare. In India, the setting of this paper, these gaps are particularly large. Interventions often target adolescent girls with the aim of empowering them to make choices that go against the status quo - to remain in school longer or marry later, for example. This approach may inadvertently expose girls, who are often marginalized within their communities, to new risks if it encourages them to violate prevailing gender norms. In this study, we design an experiment to compare the effectiveness of targeting only adolescent girls with an approach that additionally engages with the enforcers of gender norms in the wider community. We find that both arms of the trial led to a reduction in school dropout and early marriage. We see large improvements in girls' mental health but only in the arm which engages with the wider community. Improvements in mental health can be explained by community engagement causing gender norms to become more progressive and causing a reduction in the severity of sanctions that girls face for breaking norms. Both adolescent girls and their mothers perceived these shifts in norms and sanctions. Our results demonstrate that in settings where unequal outcomes are sustained through restrictive gender norms, change in the attitudes and behavior of the enforcers of these norms is critical for achieving meaningful improvements in women's well-being.
Alison Andrew, Sonya Krutikova, Gabriela Smarrelli et al.
BACKGROUND: Child marriage is a human rights violation disproportionately affecting girls in lower- and middle-income countries and has serious public health implications. In Ghana, one in five girls marry before their 18th birthday and one in 20 girls is married before her 15th birthday. This paper uses a unique dataset from Northern Ghana to examine the association between child marriage and adverse outcomes for women among a uniquely vulnerable population. METHODS: Baseline data from on ongoing impact evaluation of a government-run cash transfer programme was used. The sample consisted of 1349 ever-married women aged 20-29 years from 2497 households in the Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana. We estimated a series of ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression models to examine associations of child marriage with health, fertility, contraception, child mortality, social support, stress and agency outcomes among women, controlling for individual characteristics and household-level factors. RESULTS: Child marriage in this sample was associated with increased odds of poorer health, as measured by difficulties in daily activities (OR = 2.08; CI 1.28-3.38 among women 20-24 years and OR = 1.58; CI 1.19-2.12 among women 20-29 years), increased odds of child mortality among first-born children (OR = 2.03; CI 1.09-3.77 among women 20-24 years) and lower odds of believing that one's life is determined by their own actions (OR = 0.42; CI 0.25-0.72 among women 20-24 years and OR = 0.54; CI 0.39-0.75 among women 20-29 years). Conversely, child marriage was associated with lower levels of reported stress (regression coefficient = - 1.18; CI -1.84--0.51 among women 20-29 years). CONCLUSIONS: Child marriage is common in Northern Ghana and is associated with poor health, increased child mortality, and low agency among women in this sample of extremely poor households. While not much is known about effective measures to combat child marriage in the context of Ghana, programmes that address key drivers of early marriage such as economic insecurity and school enrolment at the secondary level, should be examined with respect to their effectiveness at reducing early marriage. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered in the Registry for International Development Impact Evaluations (RIDIE) on 01 July 2015, with number RIDIE-STUDY-ID- 55942496d53af .
on behalf of the Ghana LEAP 1000 evaluation team, Richard de Groot, Maxwell Yiryele Kuunyem et al.
Despite shifts in lifestyle and marital patterns, the practice of early marriage or child marriage persists, particularly in less populated and rural regions. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of adolescent females who enter into early marriages. The chosen approach to study is qualitative, employing the basic qualitative research method. The study included a sample of female participants aged 14 to 27 years residing in a village in the Yazd province. These individuals were married before the age of 18 and were selected for inclusion in the study using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. In order to gather data, a total of 13 female participants were engaged in semi-structured interviews. Subsequently, the data was subjected to thematic analysis methodology. During the analysis, it was found that eight primary themes can be used to define the experience of girls who enter into early marriages. These themes include cultural patriarchy, the prevalence of early marriage as a societal norm, challenges specific to rural areas, the symbolic transition into adulthood, the accumulation of dissatisfaction, social exclusion, and a non-priority of education. The primary factor contributing to the acceptance of early marriage among young girls as a social norm is the cultural emphasis placed by families on prioritizing marriage. The decision to enter into marriage can be understood and interpreted within the framework of cultural and social contexts.
Pakistan is the home to nearly 19 million child brides today. Statistics show that 18.7% of women aged 18-22 marry as children in the country. It is argued that social and cultural factors are the leading factors behind girl child marriages in rural settings in Pakistan. This study investigates the social and cultural factors as causes of girl child marriages in district Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan. A cross-sectional research design was applied to conduct a household survey of women respondents aged 15-49 years. The researchers used a questionnaire as data collection tool, and a sample of 384 married women was selected. The researchers took informed consent from all the respondents, and female research assistants were engaged to collect data from women in traditional cultural settings. Descriptive statistics were used to explain the dependent and independent variables, while a Pearson correlation test was applied to draw the correlation of girl child marriage and social factors as drivers of girl early marriage in the study locale. The results explained that girl child marriage is a harmful practice which is socially approved. It is also explained that family elders are the key decision makers of girl child marriage in their family (r = .202, p value 0.001). It is also explained that Pakhtunwali is considered a code of life where girl child marriage is regularised in the social structure of Pakhtun society (r=204, P. value 0.001). The research study recommends a behavioural change programme at the community and school levels to prevent girl child marriage in the country.
Muhammad Sadiq, Hussain Rasheed Ali, Qaiser Khalid Mahmood
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.
Abstract Background: Early marriage and early childbearing are common practices in Ethiopia. Girls who got married and give birth at a very young age are more likely to experience several health problems including anemia among others. However, the effects of early marriage and early childbearing on anemia status of adolescent girls have not been quantified in previous studies. In this study, we assessed whether early marriage and early childbearing measured at both individual and community levels are associated with adolescent anemia. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2016 demographic and health survey of Ethiopia. Our study concentrated on 3,172 late female adolescents (15-19 years). For bivariate analysis, we used the chi-squared test and spearman correlation coefficients. The relationship between early marriage and childbearing with anemia was evaluated using multilevel binary logistic regression models while controlling other determinants.Results: Overall prevalence of anemia among female adolescents was 23.8 (95% CI; 22.3-25.2). Our multivariable multilevel analysis showed that individual-level marital status (AOR=1.53, 95% CI=1.06-2.02) and community-level childbearing status (AOR=2.80, 95% CI 1.25-6.29) were positively associated with anemia among female adolescents.Conclusion: Our findings show that the consequences of early marriage and early childbearing on adolescent anemia are significant. There is a need to avoid early marriage and childbearing in Ethiopia to improve the health status of adolescent girls.
Introduction: Child marriage mainly affects girls living in poorer rural areas and is on the rise in some locations, including Upper Egypt.The aim was to evaluate the effect of the primary prevention program of health consequences for early marriage among female adolescent students and conducted at two schools representing in a rural area in El-khosos district, El Qalubia Governorate.A quasi experimental design and a purposive sampling of 137 female students were at three grades of the selected schools.One tool was used for data collection were a self-administered questionnaire including socio demographic characteristics of students, students' knowledge related to early marriage health consequences, Perception of students toward adverse bio-psycho-social health consequences of early marriage and its' preventive procedures, assess female students' practices related to personal hygiene, nutrition and physical exercises during menstruation.Results: The study was concluded that the majority of students had unsatisfactory knowledge regarding early marriage health consequences preprogram while in post program more than two thirds of them had satisfactory knowledge with a highly statistically significant difference between their knowledge, healthy practices pattern and perception between pre and post primary prevention program implementation.Conclusion: Primary prevention program reported a remarkable improvement in female students' knowledge, perception and health practices toward early marriage health consequences.Recommendations the study recommended that applying for health education programs among students in different educational settings focusing on early marriage health consequences with an implementation of practical training courses.
Hemat Abd El Moneem Elsayied, Omaima Mohamed Esmat, Hala Mohamed Mohamed Hussein
Despite widespread condemnation of child marriage in Bangladesh, the practice is still deeply ingrained in Bangladeshi society. Multiple initiatives have been developed to end child marriage, yet prevalence rates have only been decreasing slowly. In 2017, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), The Government of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Children and Women’s Affairs, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and other partners launched a transmedia campaign, Icchedana, to address social norms surrounding several issues surrounding the well-being of adolescent girls. Data were collected in 2017 and 2019. After conducting a literature review and identifying five determinants of child marriage (poverty, the practice of dowry, family honour, education, and violence against women and girls) in Bangladesh, we used questions that were specifically relevant to child marriage. Two questions from each level of the social-ecological model (SEM) were selected. The SEM was utilized in this paper because it acknowledges that change must occur at each level for change to occur. The findings show that having watched Icchedana was associated with positive attitudes towards ending child marriage in Bangladesh and provide insight into the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about child marriage in Bangladesh.
PURPOSE: The child marriage field lacks a simplified framework that connects an understanding of the drivers of child marriage for girls to decisions about the design of interventions to delay marriage within different contexts and support married girls. METHODS: We reviewed existing child marriage frameworks and conducted consultations with experts working on child marriage. We then developed a simplified conceptual framework describing the key drivers of child marriage for girls. We explored how these drivers play out and interact using qualitative data from three settings where child marriage is common: Bangladesh, Malawi, and Niger. RESULTS: The final conceptual framework lays out five core drivers of child marriage for girls, which vary and interact across contexts. Social norms and poverty are shown as core drivers that underlie lack of agency, lack of opportunity, and pregnancy/fear of pregnancy. These drivers reflect community, household, and individual-level factors. The case studies highlight the important relationships between these drivers, and the way they interact within each context. We use these examples to explore how policymakers and practitioners might identify the most appropriate interventions to address child marriage across different settings. CONCLUSIONS: We offer this framework as a starting point to guide more targeted interventions and policies that address the complex combination of child marriage drivers within each setting. By adapting this framework to different settings, those designing and implementing child marriage prevention interventions can identify the key drivers in each setting, understand how those drivers interact, and more effectively target effective interventions.
Stephanie R. Psaki, Andrea Melnikas, Eashita Haque et al.
