Examination of mental health of the women married as child brides

ABSTRACT Child bride problem is unfortunately a big problem worldwide. Although there have been numerous preventive and protective legislations as well as regulations, deficits regarding this phenomenon have been remained unresolved. Additionally, the concept of "child bride" and "forced to get married at earlier ages" involve wide spectra including legal, sociological, psychological and cultural factors. Because of the severity and prevalence of this issue, further research has great importance in terms of understanding the risk factors as well as results of child bride in Turkey so as to depict the current status of this problem. This study aimed to research the psychosocial implications of being a child bride, which is mainly and previously elaborated with sociocultural, psychological as well as health-related factors. The partcipants in this study were the women currently living in Hakkari (N=65). Both sociodemographic information form and semi-structured interview were conducted for data analyses. Based on the results of this study, which also included the direct statements of the participants about their experiences, women reported health problems and reported that their mental health got worse because of being a child bride. Keywords: Child Bride, Marriage, Women, Mental Health.