Child marriage and quality of marriage among young married women in a rural district, Lorestan Province, Iran.

Publisher: Biomed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101462768 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1756-0500 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17560500 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Res Notes Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : Biomed Central, 2008.

Marriage*/psychology ; Rural Population*/statistics & numerical data; Humans ; Female ; Iran ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Social Support ; Personal Satisfaction ; Spouses/psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Adult ; Child

Purpose: Child marriage remains a significant socio-cultural phenomenon with profound implications for the quality of marital relationships, particularly among young women. This study investigates the association between child marriage and the quality of marriage among young married women in Iran.
Methods: This study employed a population-based cross-sectional research design. A total of 70 young women, aged 18-20 years, who had married before reaching 18 years of age, were selected from four primary health care (PHC) centers in Papi District, Lorestan Province, Iran, employing a systematic random sampling approach. Subjects were categorized into women experiencing relationship distress and those without such distress using the Quality of Marriage Index (QMI). Concurrently, their level of sexual satisfaction was assessed utilizing the Hudson's Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS). Furthermore, Social Support was evaluated using the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ).
Results: The mean age (SD) of women was 18.9 (0.7) years, and their mean age (SD) of marriage was 15.2 (2.1) years. Women experiencing distress showed significant differences in age of menarche (P = 0.006), education levels (P = 0.039), spouses' education (P = 0.025), spouses' occupations (P = 0.004), household income satisfaction (P = 0.041), and household structure (P = 0.045). Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis revealed significant and positive correlations between sexual self-efficacy and social support with marital quality (r = 0.73, p < 0.001 and r = 0.55, p < 0.001, respectively). Conversely, there was a significant negative correlation between the score of indexes of sexual satisfaction and marital quality (r = -0.65, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: These findings emphasize the complex factors affecting marital quality and underscore the urgent need for interventions to support young women in early marriages. It is essential to reinforce policies aimed at reducing child marriage to improve the quality of marriage among young married women.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)

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Keywords: Early marriage; Marital quality; Sexual satisfaction; Social support

Date Created: 20240802 Date Completed: 20240803 Latest Revision: 20240806

20240806

PMC11297568

10.1186/s13104-024-06880-y

39095831