lived experiences of spouses' childrens about child spouses and its issues

One of the fundamental challenges facing our society is the phenomenon of child marriage. Despite legal and psychological opposition, the increasing prevalence of child marriage necessitates study and investigation. The purpose of the current research is to elucidate and explore the lived experiences of children who are spouses in child marriages, along with its issues and challenges. This study employed a qualitative approach using an interpretive phenomenological method. Participants in this study were 15 children who were married off in Shabestar city, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using a hermeneutic approach, applying the analysis method proposed by Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner (1989). Interviews continued until no new meanings emerged and researchers were satisfied with the depth of understanding. From the analysis of the child spouses' experiences, 894 codes were identified, yielding 5 main themes: "Factors contributing to child marriage," "Hopes and aspirations of children in child marriages," "Perceived harms," "Advantages of child marriage," and "Strategies to empower children in child marriages," along with 20 sub-themes. Strategies to mitigate the challenges of child marriage include empowering children in emotional regulation, strengthening emotional bonds between spouses, successfully managing interactions, and enhancing the psychological knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills of child spouses.
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Keywords




Lived Experiences, Child Spouses, Phenomenological Study
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‌Introduction
According to the United Nations definition, child marriage is a union that occurs before the age of 18, which has detrimental effects on individuals and brings numerous negative consequences for families and society, often unresolved (Kazemipour, 2013). Examining the various issues and aspects of this phenomenon reveals that despite some positive characteristics, it also has adverse consequences. According to the majority of legal experts, early marriage violates human rights (Bunting, 2005). Some view child marriage as a socio-cultural phenomenon impacting girls' lives in certain regions, leading to numerous personal and social problems and harm. The findings of several studies indicate that child marriage is directly related to the quality of marital life and marital satisfaction. According to recent surveys on registered marriages of girls aged 10 to 14 in different regions of Iran from 1990 to 1995, East Azerbaijan had the second highest rate of child marriages.
 
Methodology
The current research is a qualitative and interpretative phenomenological study aimed at exploring the lived experiences of child spouses in Shabestar city. The statistical population consisted of child spouses in Shabestar city, and 15 child spouses willing to participate in the research shared their experiences. The sampling method was purposive, aiming for diversity, including children of recently married spouses as well as those married several years ago, and those of childless spouses to those with several children, among others. Data were collected through in-depth, individual, and semi-structured interviews, continuing until data saturation was achieved. Following transcription, the interview data were analyzed using a hermeneutic approach, following the method of Dickelman, Tanner, and Allen (1989). Data validity was ensured through ongoing review and discussion with study participants.
 
 
Findings
From the analysis of the experiences of 894 coded spouses' children, 5 main themes were identified. These include "Factors affecting spouses' children," which encompass sub-themes such as parental authoritarianism and violence, poverty, customary beliefs and norms, and religious prejudices. "Hopes and aspirations of spouses' children" include sub-themes like entertainment during bachelorhood, overcoming past losses and deprivations, and education. "Perceived harms" include sub-themes such as physical, familial, and social harms, emotional and psychological harm, and personal harm. "Advantages of marital children" include sub-themes like bridging the generation gap, early future planning, and low expectations. Lastly, "Strategies for empowering spouses' children" include sub-topics such as economic strategies, social skills training, psychological skills, sexual and counseling knowledge training, and religious strategies.
 
Result
Many factors contribute to the prevalence of child spouses, and child wives often discuss their hopes and dreams within the context of child marriage. Although there are some advantages to child spouses, generally, the perceived harms of child spouses are significant and adversely affect the quality of life for the children involved. Empowering children of spouses is a key strategy to help them overcome their challenges. Empowerment of spouses' children involves addressing factors that diminish their quality of life by acquiring information, knowledge, insights, and necessary skills (Batari et al., 2022). Assessing the needs of children of spouses is essential in this empowerment process (Imanzadeh and Alipour, 2015).
Given that child spouses are a fundamental issue in our society, particularly in certain regions of the country, creating a cultural discourse on appropriate and timely marriage and using public media to communicate with government bodies and organizations such as schools, health centers, and the public and communication media, as well as non-governmental organizations, regarding the capabilities of children and spouses and teaching life skills, emotional regulation, communication skills, and other necessary skills before and after marriage can play a significant role in reducing the negative consequences of child marriage. It is possible to address the challenges faced by child spouses by implementing strategies such as empowering them in emotional regulation, strengthening emotional relationships, achieving success in controlling and managing interactions, and enhancing the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of spouses' children in psychological and interpersonal realms.
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