| dc.description.abstract | Given the high prevalence of early marriage and the corresponding socio-economic and health problems confronting the community, families, the county government and the married adolescents, a detailed understanding of the demographic drivers of early marriages is essential. The study assessed the prevalence of early marriage in Homa Bay County and derived its socio-cultural dynamics. Employing a cross sectional mixed methods research design, the sample constituted of 420 household heads between 20-49 years. Questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics including the Pearson’s chi-square and inferential statistics including the Logistic Regression Model was used to analyze quantitative data. Of all the 420 household heads, 106(48.6%) of women and 17(8.3%) of men married early. The study uncovered that religion, form of marriage and spousal choice were found to be insignificant in predicting marital timing. Compared to women whose bride wealth was paid, the women are less likely to be ever married (OR=0.369, CI=0.211-0.644) if their bride wealth was not paid. Similarly, among men, where exchange of gifts occurred was associated with increased probability of early marriage compared to where gifts were not exchanged (OR = 0.147, p = 0.012, 95% CI: 0.033-0.659). Higher bride wealth gains for poor households serve as a common incentive to marry off their daughters as young as 14 years. It is recommended that communal cultural education that cultivated a deep respect for sex, discouraged pre-marital sexual relations and consequent pregnancy should be highly emulated and continued. | en |
