Parents' intention toward early marriage of their adolescent girls in eastern Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study from a social norms perspective

BackgroundStrong social norms around early marriage put pressure on parents to marry off their adolescent girls at an early age. Early marriage is widely practiced in many parts of Ethiopia. However, early marriage studies rarely address the role of social norms. This study aims to examine the role of social norms on parents' intention to marry off adolescent girls early in Eastern Ethiopia. MethodA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November 2019. A multistage sampling procedure was applied to select the study participants. Factors related to parents' intention for early marriage were assessed through the lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Adjusted Prevalence Ratio (PR) was calculated using a log-binomial model to identify factors associated with intention toward early marriage. ResultsA total of 859 mothers and 859 fathers of unmarried girls were included in the study. The prevalence of intention to marry off their daughter early among mothers was 39.70% (95% CI = 36.4-43.0%) and 43.54% (95%CI = 40.2-47.1%) among fathers of adolescent girls [chi2(1) = 41.8; P < 0.001]. The intention for an early marriage was higher among mothers and fathers with favorable attitude towards early marriage, in those who believe that most people in their reference group conform to early marriage norms (empirical expectation), in those who believe that most people in their reference group expect them to conform to early marriage norms (normative expectation) and among fathers who did not know the legal age of marriage for adolescent girls and those who did not know the health consequences of early marriage. The prevalence of intention toward early marriage was lower among mothers (APR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.36-0.65) and fathers (APR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.49-0.78) in urban areas; and among mothers (APR = 0.41; 95% CI: 0.27-0.62) and fathers (APR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.38-0.67) with higher educational level. ConclusionThe social norms that promote intention for early marriage are still high among parents, especially among those living in rural areas and uneducated. Hence, interventions that aim to reduce early marriage need to address locally relevant social norms.