THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CAUSES OF EARLY MARRIAGE AND

MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS OF CHILDREN IN HULU SUNGAI UTARA

DISTRICT, SOUTH KALIMANTAN

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Arrange by:

Tiffany Ocktivianie Tobing

SRN 6411419029

PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY SPORT AND SCIENCE

STATE UNIVERSITY OF SEMARANG

2019
 Summary

Early marriage is a marriage that is carried out when the age of the man and woman is still

underage, which is not yet able to live a married life. Early marriage often occurs in rural areas

compared to urban areas, this is because various factors that support early marriage continue to

develop, the causes of early marriage are educational factors, socioeconomic status factors, and

cultural factors, these factors are actually connected to one another. On the other hand, low

education will affect the level of fulfillment of life, both primary and secondary, when primary

needs are not met it will be difficult to obtain a proper education, causing poverty, high levels of

unemployment, and ignorance of information and knowledge. Low education will cause a person

not to know about information and knowledge of something, for example about early marriage,

which has a lot of stigma and beliefs that are still adhered to and followed by the community,

ignorance of information will cause someone to be easily influenced by things that are not yet It

is proven, the impact of early marriage itself is very diverse, both psychological and

psychological impacts, the psychological impact that will be experienced is that the child will

experience mental health problems, such as stress, depression and anxiety disorders, this is

because the child will experience a change in role that makes the child unable adapting to their

new role and will cause stress and pressure for children, this is also supported by pressure from

family and society.

 Table of Content

Summary...........................................................................................................................................i
Table of Content..............................................................................................................................ii
List of Table....................................................................................................................................iv
List of Figure...................................................................................................................................v
Chapter I Introduction.....................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background.......................................................................................................................1
1.2 Problem Formulation........................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Objectives..........................................................................................................4
1.4 Research Benefits..............................................................................................................4
1.5 Research Authenticity.......................................................................................................4
1.6 Research Scopes................................................................................................................6
Chapter II Literature Review..........................................................................................................8
2.1 Theoretical Basis...............................................................................................................8
2.1.1 Early Marriage...........................................................................................................8
2.1.2 Children’s Mental Health........................................................................................12
2.2. Theoretical Framework...................................................................................................15
Chapter III Research Method........................................................................................................16
3.1 Conceptual Framework...................................................................................................16
3.2 Research variables...........................................................................................................16
3.2.1 Independent Variable...............................................................................................16
3.2.2 Dependent Variable.................................................................................................16
3.3 Research Hypothesis.......................................................................................................17
3.4 Research Types and Design............................................................................................17
3.5 Operational Definition and Variable Measurement Scale..............................................17
3.6 Research population and Samples...................................................................................19
3.6.1 Research Population................................................................................................19
3.6.2 Research Sample......................................................................................................20
 3.7 Data Sources...................................................................................................................20
3.7.1 Primary Data............................................................................................................20
3.7.2 Secondary Data........................................................................................................21
3.8 Research Instruments and Data Collection Techniques..................................................21
3.9 Research Procedures.......................................................................................................21
3.9.1 Preparation Stage.....................................................................................................21
3.9.2 Implementation Stage..............................................................................................22
3.9.3 Evaluation Stage......................................................................................................22
3.10 Data Analysis Techniques...............................................................................................22
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................1
 List of Table
Table 1.1 Research Authenticity..................................................................................................4
Y

Table 3.1 Operational Definition and Variable Measurement Scale......................................17

 List of Figure
YFigure 2.1 Theoretical Framework..............................................................................................

Figure 3.1 Conceptual Framework............................................................................................16

 Chapter I

Introduction

1.1 Background

Early marriage is a marriage that is carried out by a couple or one of the partners

who has a minor age, who is usually under 17 years of age. The ideal marriage is usually

carried out by a couple who has a mature age, according to the Indonesian Ministry of

Health, a person who is married should be considered mental readiness and age maturity as

well as biological readiness in which women are ready to reproduce at the age of 20 years,

while men aged 25 years. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, marriage

is only permitted if the man has reached the age of 19 years and the woman is 16 years old

which defines early marriage to occur in children under 18 years (Mubasyaroh, 2016). The

case of early marriage in Indonesia has been around for a long time, even since Indonesia

was colonized, this has been done hereditary which is caused by the existence of culture,

customs or traditions and the perspective of the people who still think early marriage is

normal and would be very good to run, this often happens in rural areas (Ma’rifah &

Muhaimin, 2019).

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) there are 22 cases of

early marriage which are included in the national figure, which means that 1 in 9 children

who married before the age of 18 occurred in South Kalimantan. The Central Statistics

Agency (BPS) released by the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection

(KPPPA), it was stated that South Kalimantan was included in the highest percentage of

young marriages in South Kalimantan, amounting to 22.77%, which has increased from

2017, namely 14.18 % with 12-16 years of age can reach 35.6%, in 2018 it is 15.16%, so in
the South Borneo the case of early marriage is increased. The case of early marriage that

occurred in Hulu Sungai Utara Regency, South Kalimantan, where the percentage of cases of

early marriage in Hulu Sungai Utara Regency was 67.39%, one of the example is the married

couple aged was only 15 and 14 years old, the marriage that occurred would greatly impact

the mental health of children in terms of mindsets who were not ready to carry out married

life.

The effect of early marriage tends to be negative, this is because early marriage is

usually carried out without the consent or desire of the child, which is where only the parents

decide and force the child to marry, but some cases of early marriage are also caused by

pregnancy outside of marriage, this often happens. In adolescents, because their association

is too free, broken home children are not given the attention of their parents, the influence of

friends and the environment is not good. Early marriage usually is caused by a lack of

parental knowledge or education which results in the loss of the child's future, the lack of

opportunities for children to obtain formal education and hinders the quality of women and

men in living their lives. Most of the impact of early marriage is negative, which is rarely

discussed, due to the lack of public knowledge and the lack of information sources they get

so that they still teach these actions, the existence of low economic impact is also one of the

causes that is often found, parents who are no longer able to support their children, especially

girls who often get unfair treatment when compared to boys, so girls are always considered to

end up being housewives or just end up in the kitchen and are often considered worthless,

this kind of stigma is often found in parents who are mostly found in rural areas because they

still adhere to cultural or customary beliefs regarding the higher degree of men compared to

women.
 Early marriage is usually more detrimental to women because it will have a more

impact on women, the impact that is often experienced is a psychological impact, such as

stress, depression, regret and burden (Ma’rifah & Muhaimin, 2019) this is because women

who marry early are those who are underage that they can enjoy their youth, they should

enjoy life or have fun, study, find positive pleasure, but because of their early marriage they

will lose their youth and have to face it and then they have to take care their child, they have

to change their role that are so fast and they have to face household problems that are

difficult for them to face, this can be due to unstable emotions and still want to be selfish,

which in turn will have an impact on their mental and psychological health. marriage can

lead to unique changes in the life of adolescent girl and requires transitioning abruptly into

adult roles and responsibilities before she is developmentally ready to tackle these

responsibilities, current research suggest that early marriage often exposes women to lack of

knowledge about controlling fertility, limited decision making power and less access to

resources compare to women who marry as adults.

Early married girls are at higher risk of psychological disorders as these girls will

be denied the right to freely express their views and the right to be defended against

devastating traditional practices that in turn will increases risk of lifetime and recurrent

psychiatric disorders, the type of physical emotional and social torture leads to greater

psychological traumas such as immobility, loss of self-confidence and even among girls that

were receiving education early marriage impede their education resulting in severe

depression and having complex from other girls having good educational background and

career opportunities which they lost (Ahmed et al., 2013).

 1.2 Problem Formulation

1) Why this research uses independent and dependent variables?

2) What impacts will an early marriage have on children?

3) What effect children face from early marriage on children’s mental health?

1.3 Research Objectives

 To determine the relationship between early marriage and its effect on children's

mental health.

 To determine the relationship between the causes of early marriage and mental health

of children.

 To determine the relationship between the impact of early marriage for children’s

mental health.

1.4 Research Benefits

1) Provide understanding and education to the community about the effects of early

marriage on children's mental health.

2) Knowing the number of cases of early marriage that often occur in several regions in

Indonesia.

3) Opening people's insights in teaching early marriage, especially in areas that still

adhere to high customs.

1.5 Research Authenticity

Table .1 Research Authenticity

No Researchers Title Research Design Variables Research Result

1. Naetu A Child This study uses Age at first There are significant
John, Jeffrey marriage and quantitative research, marriage, negative associations
 Edmeades Psychological which measures intimate between early marriage
and Lydia Well-being in psychological well- partner or that marriage at 15 years
Murithi Niger and being by the Violence or earlier and
Ethopia psychological General (IPV), psychological impact
well- being Index Community such as depression,
(PGWBI), that used to level norms. anxiety, positive well-
scale the measures the being, vitality and
psychological quality general health
of life of general
population.
2. Sadaf Psychological This research uses Age, female Early marriages will
Ahmed, Impact cross sectional and gender, last increase stress and
Saima Khan, Evaluation of observational study that education pressure among girls,
Malka Alia Early conducted through they will more prone to
and Marriages questionnaire that was marriage problem as
Shamoon designed to record the their individuality has
Noushad demographic profile been interrupted. The
and determine the impact of early marriage
depression level in girls is lack of education, loss
that have early of ability to enjoy their
marriages. life, psychological
disorders such as stress,
anxiety and depression.

There are several things that distinguish this research from previous studies, namely:

1. Variables: in previous studies used variables of age, intimate partner or violence, gender,

last education. In this study, using variables age, gender, male and female, the last education

of early married couples, parental behavior, environmental influences, behavior of early

marriage partners. The thing that distinguishes this research from previous research is that
 this study focuses on couples who marry early, both male and female, this study also

observes the behavior of the respondent, environmental conditions which still adhere to

customs and teach the occurrence of early marriage, the influence of parents in terms of the

economy, the stigma about men is more valuable than women, and parental supervision in

supervising children's relationships. This study uses the independent variable and the

dependent variable, where the independent variable is the cause, namely early marriage and

the dependent variable is the result, namely the impact on children's mental health.

2. Year: previous research was conducted in 2013 and 2019, while this research was conducted

in 2021.

3. Location: previous research was conducted in Niger and Ethiopia and research conducted by

UNICEF, while this research was conducted in South Borneo, using data from cases of early

marriage and using quantitative research in measuring and calculating the increase in cases

of early marriage in Indonesia.

1.6 Research Scopes

This study uses quantitative research methods using data on cases of early

marriage in Hulu Sungai Utara District, South Borneo which are associated with the negative

psychological impact experienced by children, which in fact have a strong relationship but are

rarely discussed because it is still considered taboo to discuss mental health in Indonesia,

especially among parents. This research focuses on the impact that will result from early

marriage, especially its impact on children's mental health, children's mental health is often

neglected by their families and their loved ones, which makes children afraid and feel alone in

facing problems. Early marriage can create mental disorders in children, they will feel inferior,

emotional imbalance, do not want to socialize with peers, where they will feel pressure both
from themselves and from their environment. The impact of early marriage tends to be

negative, cases of early marriage often occur in rural areas or areas that still adhere to the

culture or traditions of their ancestors, which teach them to marry at a young age or under age,

this is also supported by the stigma of society regarding women are not more valuable than

men. Apart from the impact of early marriage which affects the mental health of children, other

impacts such as lack of education, loss of opportunities to reach the future, difficulty in getting

a decent job, inadequate economy so that it is difficult to make ends meet, feeling inferior and

thus closing oneself from the environment, this is because children will feel embarrassed and

inappropriate to play with children their age, emotional instability because couples who marry

underage experience rapid role changes, making it difficult for them to deal with.

There are various factors are responsible for early marriage that include male

dominancy, parent ignorance, lack of awareness, pressure from relatives and community,

girls are regarded as a burden so parents get rid of them by marrying them, parents believe

that it offers protection to their daughters and to enhance family socioeconomic status

(Ahmed et al., 2013)

 Chapter II

Literature Review

2.1 Theoretical Basis

2.1.1 Early Marriage

2.1.1.1 Epidemiology of Early Marriage in South Kalimantan

According to the results of a survey on the increase in cases of early marriage in

Indonesia conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2018, it was found that there was

an increase in cases when compared to 2016 and 2017, where in 2018 it was found that early

marriage was 15.66% from 14.18%. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the

highest early marriage occurred in South Kalimantan which was found as much as 22.77%

that the percentage of cases of early marriage in Hulu Sungai Utara Regency was 67.39%,

followed by West Java and East Java, and in 2019 South Kalimantan was ranked first in

cases of early marriage in Indonesia.

2.1.1.2 Definition of Early Marriage

Early marriage is a marriage that occurs between a man and a woman who is still

under age, early marriage according to Law No. 1 of 1974 says that marriage is only

permitted if the man is 19 years old and the woman is 16 years old who must get dispensation

from However, according to the National Population and Family Planning Agency

(BKKBN), the ideal minimum age for marriage for women is 20-21 years, while for men it is

25 years. Early marriage or underage marriage is a phenomenon in society that often occurs

in Indonesia, where early marriage is not a new thing but has been happening for a long time,

which is usually influenced by customs rules and low socioeconomic conditions and

education levels. parents, families and children who are still low and do not understand the
impact of early marriage. According to the UNICEF literacy study, the interaction of various

causal factors that cause children to be at risk of facing marriage at an early age, the factor

that often occurs is the relationship between socio-culture or traditions that have existed for

generations, which is still being followed from now on so it is difficult to change and factors

the low economy that will affect various aspects of life, such as parents find it difficult to pay

for their children, it is difficult to get a proper education, so that parents and children will

have difficulty even not getting proper education.

2.1.1.3 Factors that Causes of Early Marriage

There are various factors that cause early marriage to continue to increase, such as

economic factors, socio-cultural factors, lack of education factors, and social factors:

a. Economic Factor

The economy will greatly support a person to obtain and meet the needs of life, both

primary and secondary needs, difficulties in the economy will be one of the factors that

will affect all aspects of life, such as being difficult to meet daily needs, so that family

needs cannot be met, which where this is what makes parents to marry off their children,

in this case it is more experienced by women, this is because there is still a stigma about

women who are not more valuable than men and when parents find it difficult to meet the

needs of their children and want to let go of responsibility in meet their needs, then the

solution they think is right is by marrying their child to someone else who does not rule

out the possibility of marrying someone who is richer.

b. Socio Cultural Factor

In this factor, early marriage is influenced by existing beliefs or customs which are then

passed on to continue and continue this belief, in this case there are many cultures and
 beliefs that teach early marriage, for example the belief that women should not refuse

applications from a man, even though the woman is under 18 years of age, because it is

believed to be insulting to the man and the woman will find it difficult to find a mate and

become an old maid. So the beliefs and customs about early marriage in the local

environment will greatly influence many families to marry off their children even though

they are still minors.

c. Education Factor

Education is very useful and has an impact on someone in making decisions, this is

because individuals will have considerations about things that are known or unknown,

educated people will have broad thoughts that are not affected by myths or beliefs that

are not in accordance with facts. In the case of early marriage, which is often associated

with a lack of parental and child education, lack of education is usually caused by a low

economy, making it difficult to get a proper education. With regard to the incidence of

early marriage, the lower the child's education, the risky it will be for early marriage, this

is because children will spend more often their activities outside the home, such as

playing with people carelessly, causing children and adolescents to be affected by

promiscuity. Bad associations will change good behavior, this expression is often heard

which has meaning for teenagers to be more careful in establishing relationships with

other people, in order to avoid promiscuity and the risk of getting pregnant out of

wedlock.

2.1.1.4 Impact of Early Marriage

The rise of early marriage in Indonesia is one of the problems that society should

be aware of and avoid, this is because the impact it will have will greatly affect married
underage couples and their closest people as well. The impact that will be experienced by

couples who marry underage will be very influential for women, this is because women will

carry a risk to the womb, maybe because the womb is not strong and vulnerable, besides that

women will also take care of and educate children, which is actually this not only women's

duties, but the role of men is also very important, but because of the stigma of society that

says that women have to take care of all the needs of the house, such as cooking, washing,

taking care of children, etc., the pressure of this stigma causes women to be stressed,

depressed, even venting the emotions she is feeling on her child and the impact on her child

will cause trauma and fear to the mother figure, as young girls in child marriages are denied

an appropriate childhood and adolescence, and are subject to an increased incidence of

psychological abuse, a curbing of personal liberty, an incomplete education, and a lack of

employment and career prospects. The impact that will be felt by men is the pressure to get a

job, where if it is difficult to meet the necessities of life due to low education and lack of

experience, then he will feel that he failed to be a man and this will also have an impact on

emotions. men, making it possible for domestic violence to occur by men. The impact of

early marriage tends to be negative, due to the lack of preparation for both men and women

to face future life problems and the formation of unstable emotions, so it is easy to get carried

away by emotions and cannot control their emotions, besides that children will also

experience the effects, so that will affect the psychological health of the child which should

be taken care of and supervised, this is because the child will be easy and will always

remember painful things, which will be traumatic for the child so that it can affect the child's

future.
2.1.2 Children’s Mental Health

2.1.2.1 Definition of Mental Health

According to WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-

being and not merely the absence of physical disease, which from this definition can be

found that mental health is a part of health that is closely related to physical and behavioral

health. Mental health is a condition in which individuals have a visible welfare of themselves

who are able to realize their potential, have the ability to cope with the pressures of life in

various situations and are able to contribute to society and the people around them. Good

mental health is a condition in which the individual is free from all kinds of mental disorders

in which the individual's condition can function normally in carrying out his life, especially

in adjusting himself to face the problems that individual has gone through. Mental health has

an important role in fulfilling the quality of individual life, this is because mental health will

have a direct impact on the mindset and actions that will be taken, if mental health is

disturbed it will cause mental health disorders which will greatly affect the quality of life of

the individual himself. Mental health problems can be experienced by everyone, including

children, adolescents, and adults. Mental health disorders can occur due to several causes,

such as childhood trauma, unstable emotional development, a lot of pressure from close

people and outsiders, experiencing bad experiences such as bullying in childhood, and other

bad experiences that cause the individual to feel inferior and unstable. can control continuous

feelings of fear, anxiety, stress.

2.1.2.1 Types of Mental Health Disorders due to Early Marriage

Mental health disorders occur in individuals when the individual is in an unstable

or unhealthy mental state, where mental health is disrupted and mental health disorders arise,
mental health disorders are the condition of a person or individual when they are having

difficulty adjusting themselves to the condition. around it, for example the inability to solve

problems which will cause excessive stress due to a lot of thinking and stress. Mental health

disorders continue to increase, this is because mental health disorders are often not

recognized by sufferers, so they cannot be recognized and even treated. The causes of mental

health disorders are various, such as trauma caused by painful experiences, fear of the future,

anxiety in living daily life, etc. Mental health disorders are also experienced by many couples

who marry at an early age, but are usually more common in women, this is due to the many

pressures that women will experience, such as pregnancy, childbirth, taking care of children,

cleaning the house, taking care of husbands etc. comes from himself, but because of the

demands of the partner, parents and people around him become a burden of thoughts that

make women stress. However, mental health disorders will not only be experienced by

women, but men will feel the same way, but not as severe as what women feel, men will take

responsibility for earning a living, looking for work and pressures related to the economy,

this too will cause a man to fail if he cannot meet the needs of his family. Mental health

disorders that are often experienced by couples who marry at an early age include:

a. Stress

This mental health disorder can be experienced by both men and women, but women are

more likely to experience it, especially women who are pregnant and after giving birth.

Women who are pregnant tend to be sensitive, which makes emotional changes that will

occur frequently and can take place quickly, this can be supported by other factors, such

as a difficult economy so that it cannot meet daily needs, it is difficult to find money for

childbirth costs, etc., while stress Postpartum is usually experienced by women who have
 difficulty taking care of the baby, which can also be supported by mothers who are

experiencing baby blues, such as experiencing mood swings, anxiety, prolonged sadness,

difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping because they have to take care of the child,

and excessive fatigue.

b. Anxiety Disorders

This mental health disorder is usually felt by individuals who have excessive or abnormal

anxiety, which can interfere with daily activities. Couples who marry at an early age or

underage will be at risk for having an anxiety disorder, this is because the couple is not

mentally prepared to accept role changes that cause them to have unusual feelings of

anxiety.

c. Depression

This mental health disorder is more dangerous than stress, this is because people who

have depression will usually close themselves or do not want to socialize with other

people, think that they have no future, have no desire to live or have the desire to commit

suicide. Depression is often not realized by couples who marry early, this is because the

characteristics of depression are often ignored and considered trivial, even though the

impact will be very risky for the individual's life itself.