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. 2021 Feb 5:8:100103.
doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100103. eCollection 2021 Mar.

One household, two worlds: Differences of perception towards child marriage among adolescent children and adults in Indonesia

Heribertus Rinto Wibowo  1 , Muliani Ratnaningsih  1 , Nicholas J Goodwin  1 , Derry Fahrizal Ulum  2 , Emilie Minnick  2
Affiliations

One household, two worlds: Differences of perception towards child marriage among adolescent children and adults in Indonesia

Heribertus Rinto Wibowo et al. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. .

Abstract

Background: Indonesia is eighth in the world in the incidence of child marriage, with South Sulawesi province having one of the highest burdens (12.1%) in the country. The study explored the determinants of child marriage in Bone, South Sulawesi, in particular the differences between adolescents and parents.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using a quantitative survey. A total of 1,004 respondents participated (500 parents and 504 adolescents aged 13-15 years).

Findings: This study found that around one out of four parents or adolescents had perceptions that support determinants of child marriage. A total of 25.8% of parents and 26.0% of adolescents agreed that a girl is ready for marriage once she starts menstruation. 25.6% of parents and 32.6% of adolescents agreed that girls aged over 18 who are not married are a burden to their families. Using the U-Mann Whitney , Kendall's tau-b, and Pearson's correlation test, these differences were found to be significant.

Interpretation: Overall, the perceptions of parents and their adolescent children do not greatly differ, with some notable exceptions. Positive perceptions towards the benefits of child marriage are still prevalent among both parents and adolescents. This indicates that social norms supporting child marriage are still strong among these groups. Comprehensive interventions are needed to promote the benefits of marrying later, based on local cultural contexts and evidence on efficacy.

Keywords: Adolescents; Child marriage; Indonesia; Parents; Reproductive health.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare no competing interests. The authors whose names are listed immediately below certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organisation or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. Nicholas Goodwin has a commercial contract between UNICEF and Tulodo.

References

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