An Exploratory, Single-Center Study of Factors Associated with Child Marriage Among Syrian Female Adolescents Residing in Turkey

Abstract

This exploratory study aimed to evaluate factors related with child marriage compared to unmarried status in female adolescent residents in a refugee camp in Turkey. The rate of child marriage and developmental status of offspring from those marriages were reported. A research team evaluated married female youth and their offspring for psychopathologies according to DSM-5 criteria and ascertained lifetime traumatic events among mothers. We compared the traumatic experiences and psychopathologies of married females and controls. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was the most common diagnosis in both groups and child brides reported greater cumulative traumatic experiences and elevated rates of PTSD. More than one-tenth (i.e., 15.1%) of offspring of child brides displayed developmental delays and 12.1% were diagnosed with global developmental delay.