Child marriage and relationship quality in Ethiopia

Child marriage is prevalent in Africa, with almost 40% of girls being married before age 18. Although child marriage is linked to a range of adverse outcomes, including intimate partner violence, little is known about the quality of these marriages in terms of the levels of communication, trust, equality, intimacy, conflict, marital satisfaction or happiness. We used both quantitative and qualitative data to examine how exact age at first marriage influenced multiple domains of relationship quality in Ethiopia. Our analysis was based on household survey data from 3396 currently married or recently divorced women aged 18-45, 32 in-depth interviews and 8 participatory focus groups in two regions. The regression results show a strong negative effect of marriage at or before age 12 on relationship quality across multiple domains. The qualitative data suggest a more pervasive effect on marital quality, with the lack of ability to choose whom they married and reduced agency emerging as particularly important factors influencing marital quality. This relationship may be direct or indirect, potentially mediated by factors such as intimate partner violence. Interventions intending to mitigate the effects of child marriage should include components that aim to improve the quality of spousal relationships, particularly in terms of communication and negotiation skills.