Socio-demographic Correlates of Child Marriages: A Study from Turkey

The present study was aimed at determining the factors affecting women's decisions of early marriage. The study sample comprised 651 women who were in the 30 and under age group, and had gotten married during their childhood. The study data were collected using the questionnaire developed by the researchers through a literature review. In the present study, those who had Romani ethnic origin, who were primary school graduates, who had parents with lower education and/or whom had low income got married at a younger age. Most of the women who had early marriages were unemployed and vulnerable to spousal violence. It was determined that the women who had love marriages at an early age regretted getting married more compared to those who had arranged marriages and the vast majority of the former ones stated that they would have continued their education if they had not gotten married at an early age. Given the causes of early marriages, it is recommended that women in the at-risk group should be educated about the negative aspects of early marriages that women who have gotten married at an early age and seek support should be helped and that child marriages should be discouraged by preparing stricter legal sanctions.