Abstract
ObjectivesElopement among adolescent girls is a growing problem in Saudi Arabia. The complex contributing factors to this often intersect. Existing efforts to understand elopement and possible related factors, however, have yet to empirically operationalize a multidimensional model of teenage girls' elopement and to assess its associations to different factors. MethodsThis mixed methods research explored the related factors to girls' elopement qualitatively from a volunteered sample of 20 foster care experts. Based on their answers, a conceptual model was hypothesized and a structural questionnaire was developed and administered to a sample of teenage girls (N = 450, 16–18 years). ResultsAdolescent girls' elopement was significantly and directly associated with deviant friends and low religious faith, as well as with media and technology use; but not with being in love and having fun, and age. The indirect relationship between elopement and family conflict and relationships was significant when deviant friends and low religious faith was a mediator. ConclusionsAdolescent girls' elopement is a complex problem especially when studying it in a traditional society and religious culture such as in Saudi Arabia. This complexity can be seen in the direct and indirect relationships between elopement and its related factors.
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