Determinants of early marriage among female children in Amhara Region, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Early Marriage is one of the global problems that undermine the personal development and the rights of women seriously. It is delicate among the developing countries such as Ethiopia. It has major consequences for public health, national security, social development, human rights, economic development, and gender equality. METHODS: The analyzed data were obtained from the 2016 EDHS and 1120 samples were considered in this analysis. Both bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression model were used to identify the determinants of early marriage practice. RESULTS: The prevalence of early marriage practice was 48.57% in the study area. The odds of early marriage practice were 2.04(AOR=2.04, 95% CI: 1.88, 2.45) times higher among rural residents compared to urban. The odds of early marriage practice was 0.94(AOR=0.94, 95%CI: 0.57, 1.98) times lower among women who had primary education compared to uneducated women. Those who did not know the legal marital age were 1.61(AOR=1.61, 95%CI: 1.26, 2.07) times more likely to practice early marriage compared to parents who knew the legal marital age. CONCLUSION: Education level, family monthly income, residence, literacy level and knowledge of legal marital were significant determinants of early marriage practice.