The phenomenon of child marriage: How do sociodemographic and adolescent perceptions shape reproductive health behavior

Kartika, Ria Chandra and Hikmah, Faiqatul and Susindra, Yoswenita and Puspita, Surya Dewi and Santi, Dwi Rukma and Yuana, Dia Bitari Mei and Jassey, Babucarr and Khamid, M. Nur (2025) The phenomenon of child marriage: How do sociodemographic and adolescent perceptions shape reproductive health behavior. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 26 (1). pp. 2669-2675. ISSN 2581-9615

Child marriage is a problem that is increasingly rampant in Jember Regency. Child marriage is a form of deviant sexual behavior (deficiency) because it involves underage teenagers. This behavior arises from a combination of various factors, both internal and external factors. So, in an effort to solve this problem, an in-depth study of the phenomenon of child marriage is needed. The purpose of this study was to analyze the phenomenon of child marriage through a model of reproductive health behavior in adolescents by considering sociodemographic factors, antecedent factors, behavioral factors and consequence factors. Thus, by understanding the model, it can be used to design effective health promotion program interventions to prevent child marriage in Jember Regency. The design of this study was cross-sectional. The population of this study was adolescents under the age of 19 years in Jember Regency, East Java. The sample size in this study used quota sampling of 140 adolescents. Data collection in this study used a questionnaire. Data processing used researchStructural Equation Modeling (SEM) SmartPLS 4. The results of modeling reproductive health behavior in adolescents show that socio-demographic factors influence antecedent factors (p value 0.001) and then will influence behavioral factors (p value 0.000). Antecedent factors also contribute to consequences, namely the perception of child marriage in women. Efforts to prevent child marriage models that can be carried out according to this model are by strengthening antecedent factors, becauseAntecedent factors are factors that have a major contribution to behavior. So, it is necessary to strengthen the level of knowledge, motivation, family support and adolescent social environment.Child prevention can also be done by providing health education, through collaboration between various parties, including health workers, peer counselors, parents, and the community.