Factors influencing adolescents to marry at a young age in Soroti, Uganda

Abstract

The research study was about exploring the factors influencing adolescents to marry at a young age in Soroti Uganda. While most of the current historiography concentrates much on the unmet need and demand for family planning among the married, this research reveals the driving forces and limitations of marrying at a young age. The research contains information on early marriages which are among the main barriers to the attainment of gender equality, equity, and development in many developing countries. Early marriages increase the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, cervical cancer, obstetric fistulas, and neonatal and maternal mortality. The research comprised of five chapters with chapter one covering the general introduction, chapter two covering the literature review, chapter three covering the methodology of the study, chapter four covering the presentation of the findings, chapter five covering a summary of the findings, conclusions and recommendations and lastly references which are given at the end of the research work. This study used secondary data from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey of adolescents as well as the Soroti data set which comprised many variables. Data were analyzed using STATA into frequency tables using actual tallies and percentages and the association between the dependent and independent variables were tested using chi-square. Ethical approval was sought from the Demographic health survey program before conducting the study. Conclusively, it is highly evident that there is high evidence of marriages among the adolescents in Soroti Uganda and the economic growth and development of the country lies in its demographics. Well-revised and practiced policies and strategies can help the country prosper; thus, challenges of access, acceptability, affordability, and information have to be addressed by agencies, NGOs and governments to ensure access to all individuals in need as a way of harnessing Africa’s population dynamics for sustainable development. Therefore, Uganda’s demographic situation should be given attention in the highest order for her to gain the demographic dividend.