Perceptions of Early Marriage, Educational Aspirations, and Career Goals among Kosovar Adolescents

Abstract

Early marriage has a negative influence on youngsters’ pursuits toward higher education, with considerable health and social impact worldwide. Educational aspirations, career goals, and early marriage are associated with numerous personal and contextual factors. We aimed to assess the association between sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors and Kosovar adolescents’ perceptions on early marriages in adolescent girls, education, and career goals. A sample of 509 adolescents (N = 294, 58.6% girls), age (M = 17.3; SD = 1.5) was assessed using the Perceptions of Early Marriage and Future Education Goals Scale. Approximately half the participants (43.2%) were clear about their future career goals, (44.8%) remain considering options, and three out of four individuals will pursue higher education after high school. Knowledge and financial stability were among the significant reasons for pursuing higher education while the greatest obstacles included poor study habits, lack of money, lack of self-confidence and lack of motivation. Key reasons for early marriage were love, pregnancy, and escape from parental control. Adolescents’ perceptions were associated with their gender, age, level of parental education, number of siblings, education level, and financial income. This study provides preliminary evidence to guide future research. The limitations and future research directions of this study have also been discussed.