Other Titles
Child Marriage in Mozambique: A Collaborative Research Project [Poster Title]
Abstract
Child marriage affects nearly 1 in 5 young women globally.1 UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 specifically set a target of eliminating child marriage by 2030.1 While the prevalence of child marriage is decreasing worldwide, sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing rising levels.2 Mozambique has the 8th highest rate of child marriage in the world, with 48% of girls married before the age of 18 and 13% married before the age of 15.3
Child marriage is a complex issue, rooted in poverty and cultural norms. Factors linked to child marriage include limited access to education, job opportunities, and reproductive health information, as well as social norms surrounding the roles of women.4,5,6,7,8 Significantly, child marriage may lead to depression, isolation, and early pregnancy, which contributes to higher maternal and infant morbidity and mortality.6
This project seeks to identify the social norms, important influencers, decision-making processes, and experiences related to child marriage and sexual and reproductive health in rural areas of northern Mozambique through a collaboration between a university in the United States and Child Development Centers in Mozambique.
To respect cultural norms, recruitment and consent were multi-stage processes that were dependent on the support and involvement of the community chief leaders. The research team used purposive sampling to recruit community members aged 10 and over and collected qualitative data at 3 locations within the community through focus groups and individual interviews. Focus groups were capped at 10 participants and were divided by age and gender. Two vignettes, created in collaboration with partners in Mozambique, presented stories of child marriage and were used to guide focus group discussions. A semi-structured interview guide facilitated individual interviews to explore participants’ personal experiences surrounding child marriage.
Initial data collection for the study has concluded, and data analysis is in early stages of inductive, qualitative coding, with plans to complete it by early 2026. Ideally, results will provide valuable insight into learning needs, social norms, and important influencers of child marriage in the Mocuba region of Mozambique so that interventions can be developed to address child marriage within the local context.
Notes
References:
1. United Nations. (2025, December 1). Sustainable development goals: Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
2. United Nations. (2025). The sustainable development goals report 2025. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2025/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2025.pdf
3. Girls Not Brides. (2025, December 1). Child marriage atlas. https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/learning-resources/child-marriage-atlas/atlas/
4. Izugbara, C., Subbi, K., Afifu, C., Salami, T., and Opondo, E. (2024). The persistence of high rates of child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia: A scoping review. Health Care for Women International. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2024.2385328
5. Kok, M. C., van Eldik, Z., Kakal, T., Munthali, A., Menon, J. A., Pires, P., Baatsen, P., & van der Kwaak, A. (2022). Being dragged into adulthood? Young people’s agency concerning sex, relationships and marriage in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 24(6), 767–781. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2021.1881618
6. Kok, M. C., Kakal, T., Kassegne, A. B., Hidayana, I. M., Munthali, A., Menon, J. A., Pires, P., Gitau, T., & van der Kwaak, A. (2023). Drivers of child marriage in specific settings of Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia – findings from the Yes I Do! baseline study. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15697-6
7. Jailobaeva, K., Barrett, H., Niyonkuru, P., Lim, D., Marín Pastrana, A., & Cossa, E. (2024). The role of faith in child marriage: Empirical evidence from Mozambique, Nepal, and the Philippines. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 22(3), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2024.2375847
8. Nhampoca JM, & Maritz J. (2022). Early marriage and adolescent pregnancy in Mozambique. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 26(3), 114–123. https://doi.org/10.29063/ajrh2022/v26i3.13
Sigma Membership
Rho Nu at-Large
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Exploratory
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Sustainable Development Goals, Interprofessional and Interdisciplinary, Child Marriage, Youth Development, Young Women, Mozambique
Recommended Citation
Adu, Karla; Nicholas-Edwards, Brenita; and Mathe, Jaime Paulo, "Exploring Factors that Influence Child Marriage in Mozambique: A Collaborative Research Project" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 111.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/posters_2026/111
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-16
Exploring Factors that Influence Child Marriage in Mozambique: A Collaborative Research Project
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Child marriage affects nearly 1 in 5 young women globally.1 UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 specifically set a target of eliminating child marriage by 2030.1 While the prevalence of child marriage is decreasing worldwide, sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing rising levels.2 Mozambique has the 8th highest rate of child marriage in the world, with 48% of girls married before the age of 18 and 13% married before the age of 15.3
Child marriage is a complex issue, rooted in poverty and cultural norms. Factors linked to child marriage include limited access to education, job opportunities, and reproductive health information, as well as social norms surrounding the roles of women.4,5,6,7,8 Significantly, child marriage may lead to depression, isolation, and early pregnancy, which contributes to higher maternal and infant morbidity and mortality.6
This project seeks to identify the social norms, important influencers, decision-making processes, and experiences related to child marriage and sexual and reproductive health in rural areas of northern Mozambique through a collaboration between a university in the United States and Child Development Centers in Mozambique.
To respect cultural norms, recruitment and consent were multi-stage processes that were dependent on the support and involvement of the community chief leaders. The research team used purposive sampling to recruit community members aged 10 and over and collected qualitative data at 3 locations within the community through focus groups and individual interviews. Focus groups were capped at 10 participants and were divided by age and gender. Two vignettes, created in collaboration with partners in Mozambique, presented stories of child marriage and were used to guide focus group discussions. A semi-structured interview guide facilitated individual interviews to explore participants’ personal experiences surrounding child marriage.
Initial data collection for the study has concluded, and data analysis is in early stages of inductive, qualitative coding, with plans to complete it by early 2026. Ideally, results will provide valuable insight into learning needs, social norms, and important influencers of child marriage in the Mocuba region of Mozambique so that interventions can be developed to address child marriage within the local context.
Description
Child marriage significantly impacts the health and socioeconomic development of girls in Mozambique. This poster presents a collaborative research process between a university in the United States and a faith-based organization in rural Mozambique to identify social norms, important influencers, decision-making processes, and personal experiences related to child marriage. Results will be used to guide development of interventions to address child marriage within the local context.