Evaluation of parental perception of psychosocial impacts of girl child’s early and forced marriages in Anambra State Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated parental perception of psychosocial impacts of child marriage in Nigeria. The aim was to contribute to measures to end violence for positive psychosocial, well-being of girl child and peaceful co-existence for positive developments globally. The objectives include: determining whether the respondents were aware of psychological impacts of child marriage, evaluate the respondents’ attitudes toward psychosocial impacts of child marriage and ascertain the respondents’ perceived actions that can ameliorate the psychosocial impacts of child marriage. The study, anchored on selective exposure and selective perception theories, adopted survey research design with the questionnaire as data collection instrument. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select three villages out of all selected Local Government Areas in Anambra where child marriage was prevalence. The population for the study was 1,831,255 adults in Anambra state and a sample of 384 was studied. Statistical tables with mean scores, frequency distributions and percentages were used to analyze raw data from the field. Results showed that respondents were: aware of psychosocial impacts of child marriage, had unfavorable disposition towards the impacts and were of the opinion that parents should join hands at different level with government and other stakeholders to help ameliorate the psychosocial scorch of child marriage. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended the need for more sensitization/advocacies to encourage parents to delay consenting to girl child marriage until daughters attained maturity age and provision of accommodating laws, monitoring compliances and giving punishments for all citizens involved in child marriage.