Associated factors with child marriage in Salvadoran woman during 2021

Abstract

Introduction. Child marriage is a marriage that occurs before the age of 18. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 21. 2 % of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before turning 18. Objective. To establish the sociodemographic and cultural factors associated with early marriage in women aged 15 to 22, El Salvador, 2021. Methodology. This is an analytical cross-sectional study based on the 2021 National Health Survey of El Salvador database. The population was 14 261 women aged 15 to 49, taking as a sample women aged 15 to 22 years who have lived in a union or have been married before the age of 18 years. Results. According to the multivariate analysis, factors associated with child marriage include: basic education or no schooling (ORP=6. 46, CI 3. 83-10. 90, p=0. 000), lack of access to a computer or tablet (ORP=1. 38, CI 1. 001. 91, p=0. 04), low asset access index (ORP=1. 73, CI 1. 24-2. 42, p=0. 001), and not making one's own decisions (ORP=5. 52, CI 2. 99-10. 20, p=0. 000). Conclusion. Child marriage in El Salvador is related to low educational attainment, lack of autonomy in decision-making, and limited access to information.