CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter includes ideas, opinions, research findings; generalization's published or unpublished

theories and discussions on related literature and studies, which provide relevant facts about the effects of

teenage marriage to the youth. That helps in familiarizing information that are relevant and similar to the

present study.

Related Literature

The Effect of Teenage Marriage in Poverty

A Child Marriage defined as marriage before the age of 18, it is a complex problem in

many circumstances including poverty, conflict and shocks, lack of access to education, lack of

opportunities, barriers to rights and health. Gender inequality and systematic discrimination of girls and

women is an underlying factor to the practice. Poverty is one of the major driver and cause of Child

Marriage and it has been reported from many countries that from a poor families wanted their child to get

married because they cannot afford to send them to school or support them financially. Sending to school

has direct and indirect costs and girls who have ended or dropped out of-school have an increased chance

of child marriage. (El Nagar, et al 2017) Also, the practice of child marriage has closely linked to ideas

about proper behavior and how to preserve the honor of family. Arranging marriage serves to prevent

them from initiating relationships on their own and risk to have a responsibility. It is most common that in

very young age become a mother they would think to get pregnant and then marry a man of their own

choice. In most cases, early marriages are not good for both sides of the relationship. However, It falls on

the young girls married off at tender ag.e is the main negative influence. In most cultures, the primary

function of a girl or a woman is to give birth to children and also run the house. Such a necessary feature

as education is thought to be unnecessary for them.

 The Effect of Teenage Marriage in Education

According to Finlay & Neumark (2008) he has shown a close link between early marriage and the

quality of education. The mainstream perception that learners should marry after completion of their

education process creates identity crises and the actual perception of social selves hinders these girls from

socializing or conducting discussions in classrooms. For instance, when teachers have to discuss topics

relating to early marriages, they might be forced to overlook some important details pertaining the topic

mainly to avoid what might look as discussing the married members of the class. Therefore, they do not

address the pertinent points surrounding the issue, and thus the quality of education is compromised. The

entire class might be misled on some crucial issues regarding early marriage, which might affect their

future lives.

Cherubini et al. (2010) stated in many cases, the decision by a girl or her parents to get married at

tender age is highly subject to the girl’s potential and capabilities to stand out in school. Girls, who are

weak in school, have low prospects in education, and thus they presumably have very little to lose in the

future. Hence, they are discouraged to go on with studies as compared with girls who have high

intellectual capabilities. Early marriage is a major factor contributing to school drop out for female

children between the ages of 9 and 17, these impacts are highly pronounced among the learners who

belong to the underprivileged families due to being married at an early age.

The Effect of Teenage Marriage in their Health

Another main effects of child marriage (before age eighteen) has been concerned with

their mental health. They found out that about child marriages linked to a range of psychiatric disorders.

Indeed, child marriage was significantly associated with all lifetime mental disorders except pathological

gambling and histrionic and dependent personality disorders. The most prevalent disorders were major

depressive disorder, nicotine dependence, and specific phobias, but the researchers found the strongest

association with antisocial personality disorder the risk for women who married as children was nearly

11
three times as high as that of adult marriers. Furthermore, between relationship status and mental health of

young adults, the group that reported the highest depressive symptoms comprised those who married at

age eighteen or younger. The age group with the lowest levels of depressive symptoms comprised those

who first married at age twenty-two or older. Because of the phobias that the teenage felt after being

married have been affecting them by being mentally ill. (Stathart et.al, 2012).

Hamilton (2012) stated that the teenage marriage is correlated with worsened physical health

for women. Women who married at age eighteen or younger had a twenty-three percent greater risk of

disease onset, including heart attack, diabetes, cancer, and stroke. The negative impact of early marriage

on women’s health unsurprising, given that these females may forfeit important health resources and

often face a greater likelihood of divorce. But there is no evidence that early marriage worsened the

physical health of men who married early. Research uncovered no studies comparing the rates or types of

intimate violence experienced by young married and unmarried women. However, that women aged

sixteen to twenty-four experience the highest rates of violence at the hands of their intimate partners,

including assaults, rape, robbery, and murder. Subsequent the increasing rate about the concerns that

when women in this age group marry, it becomes more difficult for them to exit violent relationships.

Related Studies

As of today, the cases of early teenage marriage have been arising with a various concerned from it.

This case has been studied by other to conclude the different effects of teenage marriage to the child.

According to the study of Suhariyati, et. al (2019) entitled Trends of early marriage is developing

countries: A systematic Review. stated that "education and place of residence were the most commonly

studied dominants of really marriage". Early marriage is significantly having various effects on the child

that is affected by this kind of case. Aside from that they also stated that the result of their study is

12
concerned mostly on the age gap of two couple, not just that but also how they are cable of having

benefits from each other. They also stated that when it comes to early marriage, it has concerned the

mother's and the child's health. These case does not only concern with the age gap of the two couple that

undergoes in this kind of situation.

Irani & Roudsari (2018) externalize the study entitled Reproductive and Sexual Health

Consequences of Child Marriage: A Review of literature. Child marriage is one of the results of poverty

that has many adverse consequences on reproductive and sexual health of girls. These includes the death

during childbirth, physical and sexual violence, isolation, depression, cervical cancer and risk of sexually

transmitted diseases (STD). Those the teen pregnant women are at high risk of preterm birth as well as

neonatal death, and even getting some deadening diseases more than other woman.

Entitled Conjugal Wrongs don't make rights: International Feminist Activism, child marriage and

sexual relativism. Doctoral Thesis; University of Melbourne. Given that young people at risk of early

marriage may have been raised in milieu in which early marriage is normalized, the reliance on

recognition by young people that their consent is not entirely freely given is problematic. Additionally,

the lack of a developed public discussion of around early marriage, coercive control, coercive control,

domestic abuse and sexual violence generally has knock on impacts for those who experience early

marriage being able to articulate their experiences. (Morchetti,2005)

A study from the US by Lestrat et. al (2011) entitled Child Marriage in the United States and its

Association with Mental Health in Women. On the mental health correlates of early marriage found that

53% of women who had early marriages had some form of psychiatric disorder. Most notably these were

depressive disorder, specific phobias, alcohol abuse, panic disorders and anxiety. There were also some

relationship risks that the married teenager may face through. It includes; Increase the risk of experiencing

13
other forms of gender-based violence including physical and emotional abuse, controlling behavior,

financial abuse, and honor crimes. The higher marriage failure rate may also increase, and the risk of

abandonment, risk of familial estrangements, risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation through false

marriages, less ability to exert appropriate parental control over children because of lack of prior

knowledge about being married and being a parent, and a higher rate of widowhood due to prevalent age

differences between partners.

According to the study of Nwimo et. al (2015) entitled Girl Child Marriage: Implications for

community intervention programmes. He also stated that aside from experiencing relationship risks due to

teenage marriage, there were also an educational and social impacts that the teen married felt. Some of

that educational and social impacts are the curtailment or denial of educational opportunities, loss of

socializing and friendships outside of family circle, more financial dependent on spouses, reduced change

to develop independent identity, lack of self-esteem, required to take on roles for which they are not

physically or psychologically prepared, lack of control over own mobility and actions, social

stigmatization by peers and live in poverty.

In relation to the study, the studies that are mentioned in this chapter contributed many

information and ideas to prove our said study. In this chapter, many researchers proved that the effects of

early marriage to the teenager could contribute bad effects on their life, either physically, emotionally or

mentally effects.

14
References

Carter, S.B, et. al. (2006) “Historical Statistic of the United States: Millennial Edition. New York:
Cambridge University Press:

Cherubini, L. et. al (2010) “Closing the Gap’ at the Peril of Widening the Void: Implications of the
Ontario Ministry of Education’s Policy for Aboriginal Education”. Canadian Journal of Education
33(2), 329 ‐ 355.

Dahl, G. (2010) “Early Teen Marriage and Future Poverty”. Department of Economic, University of
California

El Nagar, S. et. al. (2017) “Girls, Child Marriage, and Education in Red Sea State, Sudan: Perspectives on
Girls’ Freedom to choose p.67

Finlay, K., & Neumark, D. (2008) “Is marriage always good for children? Evidence from families
affected by incarceration. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Hamilton, E. (2012) "The Age of Marital Capacity: Reconsidering Civil Recognition of Adolescent

Marriage". Boston University Law Review V92 p. 1817-1863

Irani, M. & Roudsari, R. L. (2018) " Reproductive and Sexual Health Consequences of Child Marriage: A
Review of Literature" Journal of Midwifery and Reproductive Health. 7(1): 1491-1497

LeStrat, Y. et. al (2011) " Child Marriage in the United States and it's Association with Mental Health

in Women" Pediatrics V128 N3 pp. 524-530

Morchetti, C. (2005) “Conjugal Wrongs don't make rights: International Feminist Activism, child
marriage and sexual relativism Doctoral Thesis; University of Melbourne

Nwimo, I. (2015) "Girl Child Marriage: Implications for community intervention programmes" in
Journal of Law, Policy & Globalization V37 pp. 141-149

Spencer, P.H (2000). “Late High School Drop outs: Characteristics Experiences, and changes Acrosss
Cohorts”.
Suhariyati, S. et. al (2019) " Trends of Early Marriage in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review "
Journal News V14 pp. 227-282

Susman, E. et. al. (2003) “Puberty, Sexuality, and Health” Developmental Psychology. New York. pp.
295-324

Vang, P. & Her, P. (2014) “Teenage Marriage among American Women”. In Journal of Human
Behavior in the Social Environment. V24 pp. 138-155

Viasiri, et.al (2011) “Guidance of a Good Parenting among Children”. The University of Michigan Ann
Arbour, Michigan.

Webster, N. (2019). In Merriam- Webster’s Dictionary: America