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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Life-Course Epidemiology and Social Inequalities in Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1477197

Factors Associated with Girl Child Marriage in Iran: A Qualitative Socio-Ecological Approach

Provisionally accepted
Asma Pourtaheri Asma Pourtaheri Mehrsadat Mahdizadeh Mehrsadat Mahdizadeh *Hadi Tehrani Hadi Tehrani Jamshid Jamali Jamshid Jamali Nooshin Peyman Nooshin Peyman *
  • Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Girl child marriage is an example of a human rights violation, the unfortunate consequences of which have raised growing concerns in the health system and have become a development challenge. Therefore, this research was conducted to identify the factors driving girl child marriage based on the Socio-Ecological Model. The present qualitative study employed guided content analysis and a deductive approach to identify the driving factors behind girl child marriage in Bam City. Sampling was targeted among Women aged 15-30 got married under the age of 15, family members, informants, and policymakers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Hsieh and Shannon approach and MAXQDA software. The data was classified into five categories: individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and society. Individual factors were classified into biological, psychological, and demographic factors. Interpersonal factors were categorized into two categories: family structure, Ineffective interactions and social support. Organizational factors included Weakness in the education and care system. Community factors included the economic situation governing the society. The society factors were divided into two categories: Cultural and social factors governing the society, and Weakness in policy making and legislation. The findings showed that the socio-ecological model is a suitable framework for explaining the driving factors of child marriage. Girl child marriage is not merely a personal or familial decision; rather, it is influenced by the interactions of different systems that can either exacerbate or mitigate the issue. Consequently, the management, control, and prevention of Girl child marriage necessitate comprehensive efforts at regional, national, and international levels. In addition to creating platforms for the empowerment of girls at both national and regional levels, international policies can also foster a supportive environment.

    Keywords: Child marriage, qualitative research, Socio-ecological model, Policy Making, Cultures, Interpersonal Relations

    Received: 14 Sep 2024; Accepted: 31 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Pourtaheri, Mahdizadeh, Tehrani, Jamali and Peyman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Mehrsadat Mahdizadeh, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
    Nooshin Peyman, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

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