Abstract
Child or early marriage, primarily due to cultural factors, continues as a tradition and seems to be a growing phenomenon in Jordan. This research explores the lived experience of early marriage from the perspective of adolescent girls and young women. A qualitative research design and in-depth face-to-face interviews in the Arabic language were conducted with 36 female subjects, married before the age of 18 and all newlyweds, married for less than 3 years. Six major themes emerged from the interviews to describe the experience of the participants: “Feeling remorse about getting married early”; “Loss of authority and feeling powerless”; “Reasons behind early marriage”; “Feeling pressure to have the first baby”; “Early marriage and pregnancy health consequences”; and “The positive aspects of an early marriage.” The lived experience revealed in this study confirm the overall negative effect of girls entering marriage at a young age, Early marriage is a violation of human rights, and robs girls of their childhood, education, work, and other life choices, in addition to the reported adverse psychological and physical effects.
Highlights
IntroductionThe marriage of female adolescents and young persons in this age group is generally considered or perceived as “early marriage,” a public health issue, a social risk, and an individual tragedy, associated with mental health issues, obstetric risks, and educational problems (Erulkar, 2013; Sezgin & Punamäki, 2020; Wang & Qiao, 2020; World Health Oganization, 2012)
Recent research has highlighted that girls who marry at a young age are at greater risk of intimate partner violence than their older counterparts (Sezgin & Punamäki, 2020)
The participants were living in different cities in Jordan (Amman, Irbid, Al-Mafraq, Madaba, and Al-Zarqa)
Summary
The marriage of female adolescents and young persons in this age group is generally considered or perceived as “early marriage,” a public health issue, a social risk, and an individual tragedy, associated with mental health issues, obstetric risks, and educational problems (Erulkar, 2013; Sezgin & Punamäki, 2020; Wang & Qiao, 2020; World Health Oganization, 2012). Early marriage leads to higher rates of domestic violence and abuse (Adedokun et al, 2016; Sezgin & Punamäki, 2020; Wang & Qiao, 2020). Research indicates that becoming a mother at a young age can lead to high levels of “depressive” symptoms (Sezgin & Punamäki, 2020)
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