Individual and interpersonal factors influencing child marriage: A qualitative content analysis study
Summary & Objectives
This qualitative study examines the individual and interpersonal factors that shape child marriage among girls married before the age of 15 in Bam city, Kerman Province, Iran. Using in-depth interviews with girls, parents, spouses, teachers, and key informants, the study aims to unpack how biological, psychological, family, and social dynamics interact to produce early marriage decisions. By centring stakeholder perspectives, the study seeks to inform culturally responsive prevention strategies that move beyond legal frameworks to address the lived realities sustaining child marriage.
Findings
The findings reveal that child marriage is driven by a combination of individual vulnerability and interpersonal pressures rather than a single causal factor. At the individual level, limited cognitive and emotional maturity, lack of knowledge about marriage and reproductive health, unmet emotional needs, and physical signs of puberty contribute to perceptions that girls are “ready” for marriage. At the interpersonal level, traditional parenting practices, rigid family values, weak family problem-solving capacity, family disruption, and low social capital strongly shape marriage decisions. Schools and peer networks often fail to act as protective spaces; instead, peer pressure, ineffective counseling, and weak teacher–student relationships sometimes reinforce early marriage. These dynamics are further legitimised by permissive legal frameworks that allow marriage below 18 with parental and judicial consent, normalising child marriage as an acceptable solution to social and economic stress.
Recommendations
The study underscores the need for multi-level, context-specific strategies to prevent child marriage. Interventions should strengthen girls’ life skills, decision-making capacity, and knowledge of rights while simultaneously addressing family norms, parenting practices, and emotional support structures. Schools must be equipped to function as protective environments through effective counseling services and stronger teacher engagement. Community-based approaches that involve parents, religious leaders, and peers are essential to shift entrenched norms around femininity, maturity, and family honor. Finally, legal reforms to establish and enforce a clear minimum marriage age of 18, combined with awareness-raising and community support mechanisms, are critical to reducing the social legitimacy of child marriage and protecting at-risk girls
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