Marriage Is Not An Easy Task

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Background of the Study

Marriage is not an easy task that a man and a woman have to take for granted. For instance, it is such a big burden and a serious responsibility that both have to take on and stand firm for it. Early marriage today or what we call child marriage has been rampant in today’s generation. Many teenagers or young people today engaged in this serious matter without any proper preparations if what will happen next and in the future times. Entering early parenthood leads sufferings that both young individuals can’t fully tolerate, not knowing what are the certain and major consequences of it rather than thinking of it many times.

Marriage is a sacred institution, which has been in existence for centuries. People select their life partners on their own or through the recommendations of their family and Church and eneter the holy bond of marriage. Christian marriages are typically governed by the Bible that lays certain rules to preserve the sanctity of the marriage. All true Christians usually get married in wedding chapels or churches to tie the bond in the presence of the Holy Bible (Sofsian, 2007).

Teenage wedding is a growing socioeconomic concern. Its effect is manifold; in one hand it damages the carrier of the couple, in the other hand, in most of the cases the mother is left alone with a baby within a year or two. Most of these babies are often deprived of the affection from their parents leading them to become a problematic child in the later age (Biswas, 2010).

Child marriage affects millions of girls worldwide. The Elders are bringing together organizations working locally, nationally and internationally to build a global partnership to end this harmful practice. While boys are sometimes married early, girls are disproportionately affected and form the vast majority of victims of child marriage. Every single day, it is estimated that more than 25,000 girls under the age of 18 are married. This practice not only harms the young brides, but also impedes the development of their communities and societies as a whole (UNICEF, 2010).

In many different countries and parts of the world, young women’s marriage before the age of 18 is a reality to be lived. Some students were made using Demographic and Health Surveys showed that a considerable percentage of women in civilized and developed countries continue to marry at an early age. The statistics showed 20-25% of women get married at the age of 18, and 40-70% of women marry at the age of twenty. Early marriage is widely spread in Africa and South Asia, and is least common in North Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia (International Family Planning Perspectives, 22:148-157 & 175, 1996).

About a third of women aged 20-24 years old in the developing world were married as children. Child marriage is most common in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, but there are big differences in prevalence among countries of the same region. While data from 47 countries show that, overall, the median age at first marriage is gradually increasing, this improvement has been limited primarily to girls of families with higher incomes. Overall, the pace of change remains slow. While 48 per cent of women 45-49 years old were married before the age of 18, the proportion has only dropped to 35 per cent of women 20-24 years old (UNICEF, Progress for Children, 2010).

Banaue, Ifugao - The Provincial Population and Sustainable Development Division (PPSDD) has lined up activities to address the high incidence of teenage pregnancy and early marriage among the youth in the province. For the incidence of early marriage in the province (age 20 and below), there are at least 375 recorded cases in 2010. Data shows 82 percent are females and 18 percent are males, indicating a greater tendency among females to marry at an early age (Lihgawon, Sun.Star Baguio Newspaper, 2011).

The population is relatively young in Davao Region. As of 2004, about 48.8% of the women and 48.1% of the men were 19 years old and below. The age structure of the region indicates a high proportion of young women who are most likely to experience reproductive health problems and exhibit sexual behaviors that can be detrimental to their health and well-being. During this stage of life, they become vulnerable as they experience some physiological and psycho-emotional changes which are characterized by ambivalence, confusion and insecurity. Studies show that a significant number of the young population becomes sexually active at a relatively young age. But they have a low level of knowledge and practiced unprotected sex which placed them at a higher risk of unwanted pregnancies, abortion, sexually transmitted infections and other reproductive health problems. Currently, the Center for Health Development for Southern Mindanao has intensified its programs that respond to the reproductive health needs of women. However, these initiatives did not fully address the needs of adolescents particularly the indigenous peoples who usually enter into marriage before age 20. A study done among Manobo women showed that about 24% of the women are married at 10-14 years, while 66% got married at age 15-19 years. Mean age at marriage was 15 years (Lupase, 2010).

Nowadays, there are more and more young people prefer to get marriage whether they are capable, weak or enough for the responsibilities. Marriage is a huge responsibility that we cannot study about it in school or university. W e need to experience the hardships of living independently, earning a wage to pay bills and feed yourself, learning to take care of yourself and living life to the fullest and as best as possible. The year of experience gained from single-hood perpares a person for marriage. There is no any shortcut or easy way to go about it. It often seems that marriage is the simplistic solution to so many probl;em. The boys and girls are doing wrong in school, their parents will just ask them to marry. Vey often, we get caught up with the idea of the wedding day itself. Wedding party is just a few days but the marriage involves a whole lifetime. Of cause, there is the blame falls on the both sides (Chin, 2012).

Having a marriage problem can make one’s life miserable, especially if one person is the only one who is trying to correct it. Early marriage problems are common, but they don't have to end up in divorce or separation! However, if that's the case, never lose heart. The person can have a great marriage by following just this one bit of advice. Doing the right thing no matter what can save one’s marriage and, if he/she have any children, save them from a lifetime of heartache (Woodward, 2009). For him, ‘marriage does not cause problems, nor should it be problem laden. Marriage should be a vehicle of love’.

Merging two lives together is never going to be easy, no matter how in love you are, how well you get along, and how attracted to each other you are. Reality will set in at some point, usually when the 'honeymoon period' is over. Some people make the mistake of thinking that because they are experiencing some early marriage problems, it means the relationship is doomed - this isn't always the case (Hamer, 2010).

Perhaps, early marriage was related to high poverty and social constraints due to conflicts, political and economical obstacles, instability, shortage of services in education, housing, and professional status, even a destruction of personal achievements. For instance, getting married before the age of eighteen would be a huge struggle for the for both couples especially to the girl. During this marriage, girls face extreme hardships including the lack of education, emotional adversity, and poor social skills. The young people are not yet ready to become parents and they are not mature enough. As to it says, marriage is a huge responsibility and its a heavy burden to those young parents. They need to experience hardships of living independently and learn to take good care to their children. It would not be an easy and trustful task that teenagers can take heavy sense of esponsibility to take care of a family.

Literature Review

The selected readings and findings of different studies conducted nationally and globally are on this section which provide the backgrond of the study.

When the word "Marriage" crosses our mind, we start dreaming of the perfect life marriage is all about. We all long for an independent life away from the restrictions of our parent's house. A loving husband, a happy family and a chance to shape our life the way we want it. When we get married, we start complaining and lots of problems show up from nowhere. We see life in a different way and depression unfolds the way to our hearts. We begin thinking; why did I get married? Why did I do this to myself? The problem is never in marriage but within us. We always blame it and cruise the day we got married when the problem lies in the wrong choices we made before having this big step (Gadalla, 2013).

Early marriage is a phenomenon that affects millions of young girls from all over the world. As soon as these young girls get married, they become fully engaged in all the domestic burdens, marital responsibilities, real life challenges and raising children while they are still children themselves. Many factors contribute in causing early marriage, among which are traditional practices, myths about early marriage, social and economic pressures. Moreover, these causes lead to harmful consequences and violation of human rights; since early marriage deprives young girls of their right to attain education, enforces them into a maturity level at an early age, exposes them to health risks, captivates their freedom, and in some cases leads to divorce. Unfortunately, early marriage is not prohibited, and according to international conventions, early marriage is still being practiced making young girls the victims of this abuse (Mutac, 2013).

According to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW, 2008), 51 million girls between the ages of 15-19 are currently married; 100 million girls will be married before the age of 18 in the coming decade. The prevalence of child marriage varies across region and nation. Most will be in sub-Saharan Africa and the Asian Subcontinent (Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh). In Niger, for example, 77% of women in their early 20s were married as children. In Bangladesh, 65% were. Child marriage also occurs in parts of the Middle East, including Yemen and the rural Maghreb. In the United States, child marriage is still permissible in some states, with parental or judicial consent. Globally, according to UNICEF, 36% of women aged 20-24 were married or in a union, forced or consensual, before they'd reached 18. An estimated 14 million girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth each year. They are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than women in their 20s. Girls who marry between the ages of 10 and 14 are five times as likely to die during pregnancy6 or childbirth as women in their early 20s.

Between 2011 and 2020, more than 140 million girls will become child brides, according to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). If current levels of child marriages hold, 14.2 million girls annually or 39 000 daily will marry too young. Furthermore, of the 140 million girls who will marry before they are 18, 50 million will be under the age of 15. In South Asia, nearly half of young women and in sub-Saharan Africa more than one third of young women are married by their 18th birthday. The 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage are: Niger, 75%; Chad and Central African Republic, 68%; Bangladesh, 66%; Guinea, 63%; Mozambique, 56%; Mali, 55%; Burkina Faso and South Sudan, 52%; and Malawi, 50%. In terms of absolute numbers, because of the size of its population, India has the most child marriages and a in 47% of all marriages the bride is a child (WHO, 2013).

Early marriage is an egregious violation of human rights with severe consequences for girls’ sexual and reproductive health. Every day more than 37,000 girls get married, and if present trends continue, an estimated 15 million girls will become child brides every year beginning in 2021. Girls who are married are forced to take on roles for which they are not emotionally and physically prepared. For many girls, marriage marks the beginning of their sexual life. Married adolescents have sex more often than their unmarried peers; are less able to refuse sex or negotiate safe sex; and often have older, more sexually experienced partners — all factors that increase their risk of HIV infection. Young women are often expected to demonstrate their fertility by becoming pregnant. Many give birth within the first year of marriage when their bodies are not fully matured. Childbirth- and pregnancy-related complications are the number one cause of death among girls ages 15-19; of the 16 million adolescent girls who give birth each year, 90% are married (USAID, 2013).

Evidence shows that girls who marry early often abandon formal education and become pregnant. Maternal deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth are an important component of mortality for girls aged 15–19 worldwide, accounting for 70,000 deaths each year. If a mother is under the age of 18, her infant’s risk of dying in its first year of life is 60 per cent greater than that of an infant born to a mother older than 19. Even if the child survives, he or she is more likely to suffer from low birth weight, under nutrition and late physical and cognitive development. Child brides are at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation. Finally, child marriage often results in separation from family and friends and lack of freedom to participate in community activities, which can all have major consequences on girls’ mental and physical well-being (UNICEF, State of the World’s Children, 2009).

T'boli, South Cotabato -- With early marriage still prevalent among tribal communities here, the National Government's health caravan, dubbed as "Lakbay Buhay Kalusugan (LBK)", rolled out here Thursday in a bid to lessen such phenomenon, as well as provide health care services. Mayor Ernesto Manuel hopes the municipality, with 70 percent of the population composed of indigenous people, mostly T’bolis, could rise from poverty. In their case, they have 10, 12-year-old [T'boli] girls getting married already, and so they were forced to stop schooling as Manuel said, lamenting that this as a major reason why many of his tribal constituents are poor (Sun.Star Davao Newspaper, 2011).

Every marriage will face challenges that will test the couple's love and commitment for each other. Some marriage problems are quite common. Learning what they are so that you can spot the signs early can help save your marriage from ending in divorce. Millions of marriages end each year simply because of a lack of effective communication. This is one of the marriage problems that can slowly chip away at the relationship while neither partner even realizes what is happening. Lack of communication can weaken the very foundations of marriage and leave both the husband and the wife feeling frustrated, unloved and alone (Ward, 2010).

Early marriage is a healthy option for many post-high school and post-college couples. Settling down early and having a home and family of their own can have its advantages over traditional marriage ages. Many early marriage couples believe they can handle life's many responsibilities and problems together while embarking on their own career paths. An early marriage can strengthen the relationship and let couples grow together. Yet marrying at an early age has its ups and downs. Teenagers and recent college graduates may decide to tie the knot despite parental objections, but they need to know what is in store for them before taking such a decision (Carllson, 2010).

In the case of early marriages, girls are not even mature enough to fight for their own rights or to speak for themselves-they feel that their husbands own them and if he wants more children then she has to bear them. However, even the Holy Quran tells us that nothing is more important than the woman’s health. If her health does not allow her to keep giving babies then it is simply not right for her to keep suffering. Some parents feel that if they get their child married at an early age they are protecting them. However, the fact is that this results in lost development opportunities, hinders personal growth and increases the chances of poor health and limits life options. Motherhood is viewed by them as their sole purpose in life and they seem to have no life of their own. With her childhood already limited due to early marriage, she is burdened with the responsibility of handling a man whom she doesn’t even know that well and pregnancies that she is unable to handle. She has lost the joy of celebrating marriage which is the dream of every young girl-and all at the expense of her health. It is high time that we realize the detrimental effects of early marriage on the girls in our society, and try to do our part in spreading awareness about the maternal and child health services, the sexual and reproductive counseling that we can make available to them and save their lives (Srh, 2012).

Most young ones get married because they were attracted physically by the opposite sex without considering all other factors that are needed for a healthy relationship. So many young ones get married out of pity. They considered the hurt and pain they will cause a friend whom they have dated for a long time without understanding that compassion is no substitute for love. Most young people get married because of economic reasons. They forget that money cannot take care of the emotional, spiritual, romantic and a vast array of problems that arise in marriage. Most young people swallowed up in adverse family problems see marriage as the only way out of their problems. Most teenagers rush into marriage because their friends are getting married, and pressurizing them to do same. They feel it will make them "belong" if they do as their friends do. Most people go into marriages half-heartedly just because culture demands that a particular person be given in marriage to a particular individual at a given time, without considering the happiness or compatibility of the individuals involved. In certain places, so much emphasis is placed on the boy-child. Some boys are forced into early marriage owing to the fact that they are the only male child of their parents. They get married not knowing what marriage is all about, not even sure if they love the person they are getting married to since they are still very young to understand what it actually means (Igwe, 2010).

The earliest time to become safely pregnant is age 18 because a girl's reproductive system is fully developed. But for many girls in South Asia, marriage is much earlier, especially for uneducated girls: fourteen is not an uncommon marriage age, and there is often strong social pressure to become pregnant ASAP after the wedding. These too-early pregnancies have a higher risk of going wrong, with miscarriages, stillbirths, and undernourished, infection-prone babies who have a higher risk of death in their early weeks and months. And when an infant dies, the mother is in danger of having another quick pregnancy, with the same high risk of more unpleasant and dangerous outcomes, including the deterioration of her own health and nutrition as the deadly cycle continues. (Davies, 2009).

It's obvious that women are more concerned about getting married at a relatively early age because they begin to panic about not being able to have children. Because of this, there are so many women in today's society telling their boyfriends, "I want to get married this year!" As most of us know, when it comes to relationships, men rarely want to get married as quickly as women (Dixon, 2012).

Theoretical Framework

Marriage before the age of 18 is a reality for many young women. Child marriage is a violation of human rights, compromising the development of girls and often resulting in early pregnancy and social isolation, with little education and poor vocational training rei The study was anchored to the Psychosocial Developmental Theory by Erik Erikson. He states that life is a series of lessons and challenged which help us to grow. His theory helps to tell us why this theory is helpful for child developmental and adults also. In relation to this study , youth must resolve two life crises during adolescents . The way a person crisis will determine their personal identity. The first crisis will typically occur during early middle adolescence,called the crisis of identity versus identity confusion. This represent to find a balance between developing a unique identity. Thus, youth must determine who they want to be and how they want to perceive by others. Erikson believed that when the youth succesfully navigate this crisis they emerge with a clear understanding of their individual identity and they can easily share their self with others.

According to Erikson, when youth become stuck at this stage, they will become emotionally mature adults. The second crisis will occur in late adolescence and early adulthood which is the crisis of intimacy versus isolation. This represents to resolve the reciprocal nature of intimacy by having a mutual balance between giving love and support. Thus, youth must learn how to develop and to maintain close friendship as well as how to commit a romantic relationship. When youth fail this crisis they will become distant and self-contained,needy, vulnerable and dependent.

Sigmund Freud theory on the other hand is more concerned about psychosexual theory which is applied to our study. Freud believed that our personality disorder develops through the childhood stage which the pleasure seeking energies of the id become focused on certain erogenous area. However,psychosexual energy or libido was described as the driving force behind behavior . Freud mentioned about the Oedipus Complex in which it teaches that the unconcious holds repressed thoughts that boys have desire to have sexual intercourse.

In addition, Johnson’s Behavioral System Model meant that each individual has redisposition to act with reference to the goal , in certain ways rather than in other ways. Johnson believes that each individual has focusing and repeating ways of acting which cover a behavioral system distinct to that of the individual. These actions from outstanding thoughts out and included functional net that best defines the relation betweeen the person and his environment. In relation to our study, Johnson identifies seven subsystems, one of which is the sexual subsystem wherein it imitates behaviors related to procreation or our reproduction. Both biological and social factors are involve in this subsystem.

Virginia Henderson conceptualized the 14 fundamental needs of humans. She stated that the person requires assistance to achieve health and independence. She introduced the concept of mind and body of a person as inseperable. For a person to function to the utmost, he must be able to maintain physiological and emotional balance. In relation to the study, it is important to have our full responsibilities and roles as a person and must know how we can deal our problems. For a patient to achieve health, he must meet his need for support system and our emotional needs which in many cases provided by the family.

Significance of the Study

This study aimed to identify what are the possible effects of early marriage on the quality of life among teenagers in Barangay Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City. This is to determine the outcome of the early marriage with the effects and consequences that will provide information needed in this research study. It is also to know whether early marriage brings either benefits or harms to the youth and their children as they would have. This is to know the concerns of early parenthood both of the young parents in terms of physical aspect, developmental, psychological, social, emotional, mental, spiritual, and in socioeconomic status as it was said to be already becoming a social norm or practice in our country.

Community: The outcome will determine the quality of life among teenagers in Barangay Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City from having early marriage.

Health care provider: This study may help health care provider to identify the information needed by the residents particularly the teenagers in the community. This will motivate and enlighten them to render proper nursing interventions/management, health teaching and information that will help in solving the existing problem.

The researchers: This study will give them the opportunity to augment their knowledge, analyse, interpret and justify the responses of the teenagers who engaged early marriage and deepen their understanding about this early or child marriage effects.

Definition of Terms

The terms used in the study are defined operationally as follows:

Marriage. It is a social union or legal contract between people called spouses that establishes rights and obligations between the spouses, between the spouses and their children, and between the spouses and their in-laws which involves intimacy and varies according to different cultures.

Family. It is the basic unit of the society and the most important agent of socialization which composed of a father, mother, and children.

Health. It is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Teenager. It is a term widely used to describe an age group between childhood and adulthood. Generally the accepted ages of the terms teen or teenager are 13 to 19 years of age.

Pregnancy. The period from conception to birth; pregnancy usually lasts 40 weeks, beginning from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period, and is divided into three trimesters, each lasting three months.

Relationship. It is the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected especially by blood or marriage.

Love. It is a feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; preeminent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness; as, the love of brothers and sisters or even to an opposite sex.

Divorce. It is a legal action between married people to terminate their marriage relationship. It can be referred to as dissolution of marriage and is basically, the legal action that ends the marriage before the death of either spouse.

Sex. In biology, sexual reproduction is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety.

Maturity: It is the ability to respond to the environment in an appropriate manner which generally learned rather than instinctive, and is not determined by one's age and encompasses being aware of the correct time and place to behave and knowing when to act appropriately, according to the circumstances and the culture of the society one lives in. 

Human rights. It refers to those rights that are considered universal to humanity, regardless of citizenship, residency status, ethnicity, gender, or other considerations.

Socioeconomic. The term socioeconomic is combination of two words- social and economic .social condition of a person means culture, society where a person is living and his interaction with the society. It also refers to financial status of person. So basically socioeconomic condition of an individual refers to his society, culture, environment, his interaction in society and his financial status.

Child.

Statement of the Problem

The main reason of this study is to determine the effects of early marriage on the quality of life among teenagers living in Barangay Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City who presently experienced and tend to engage this kind of latest society’s concern and issue- child or early marriage. This is to see how the early marriage affects them and know the effects or consequences of the young ones who married at early time.

Scope and Limitation

The study was primarily focused and limited to the residents especially the teen ones engaging early marriage living at Barangay Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City. The results

of the study were based on the data obtained from the said barangay and the responses of the respondents. The data had been gathered from having actual interview and interpreted.

Instrumentation

The questionnaire was a researcher-made instrument that was constructed with the help of the adviser, professor and validators who were expert in research and environmental studies.

The purpose of using the questionnaire with such degree of structure is to ensure comparability of response to facilitate analysis. The items were enumerated and the respondents answered through verbalization with the corresponding questions that are true to them.

CHAPTER II

METHODS

This chapter presents research design of the study, research respondents, instrumentation, research procedures or data gathering procedure.

Reasearch Design

The research design used in this study is a qualitative design- descriptive research which is the Colaizzi’s Phenomenological method which describe, analyze, and interpret data through interview about the effects of early marriage on the quality of life among the teenagers in today’s generation. With the use of the research qestionnaire, this intends to answer questions ‘what and how’ about the effects or consequences of engaging early marriage.

Research Respondents

For this study, the young adolescents living in Barangay Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City are going to be interviewed and directly asked questions. The researchers used the Phenomenology description technique with Colaizzi’s method wherein the status and responses of the participants were carefully considered, analyzed, and interpreted.

Research Environment

The study was conducted among the teenagers at Barangay Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City who had early marriage.

Data Gathering Procedures

The following are the steps that the researchers had been chase in conducting the study.

Seeking permission to conduct the study. The researchers formulate a letter addressed to Dean of College of Nursing , Ofelia C. Lariego, RN, MAN requesting for approval to conduct this study.

Seeking permission to conduct the study on the designated area. A letter of permission to conduct the study was sent to Barangay Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City for the acquisition of data regarding the effects of early marriage on the quality of life among teenagers living in the said area for the distribution of the questionnaires to them.

Administration of research instrument. After approval of the research proposal, permission to conduct the study was sent to Barangay Captain in Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City.

The researchers personally contribute the questionnaires to the respondents (teenagers) of Barangay Arroyo Compound, Matina, Davao City.

Data Analysis Tool

According to Jacelon and O’Dell (2005), data analysis in qualitative research begins once data collection begins. Data anlysis is generally not a distinct step in qualitative studies a it is in quantitavestudies. Inmany qualitative studies, the researcher begins interpreting data as data are collected.

Phenomenology does literature review at the outset look for experiential descriptions of the phenomenon being studied – expand researcher’s understanding of the phenomenon from multiple perspectives. By opting to retain phenomenological reduction in the study, the process of epoché or bracketing of predispositions and perceived data is observed. However, Colaizzi’s method of phenomenological description of the revealed meaning or the manifested dimension of human life is incorporated to form the whole conceptual lens of the study.

Colaizzi’s Seven-Step Method of Data Analysis

1. Making sense or acquiring feeling for the protocols

The first step was reading the protocols. The transcriptions were read several times in order to understand the fullness of the experience as described by each participant (Colaizzi, 1978). Since the narratives were in the Cebuano language, these were translated into English by the researchers.

2. Extracting significant statements

The second step was extracting significant statements from the transcriptions. Extracting significant statements means that the researcher returns to each transcript and "extract from them phrases or sentences that directly pertain to the investigated phenomenon" (Colaizzi,1978).

3. Formulating meanings

The third step is formulating the meanings or spelling out the meaning of each significant statement (Colaizzi, 1978). Since this step entails creative insight but not severing connections with the original transcriptions (Colaizzi, 1978), the researcher constantly referred to the original transcripts of the interviews.

In this step, the researcher leaps from what the study participants say to finding what they mean, thus making a "precarious leap" (Colaizzi, 1978). Colaizzi further explained that in finding these formulated meanings, the researcher must discover and illuminate the hidden meanings considering the various contexts and horizons of the phenomenon which is described in the original transcript "and must not formulate meanings which have no connection with the data".

4. Organizing the clusters of themes

The fourth step was to organize the formulated meanings into clusters of themes. The 21 themes were found to cluster into four theme clusters namely Struggle with 11 themes, Realization with 5 themes, Invulnerability with 4 themes and Approval with 1 theme. These four theme clusters were regarded as the central themes of the study. Each theme cluster is comprised of themes as shown below.

The four theme clusters were reviewed and compared to the original interview transcripts for validation. This was achieved by re-reading the transcripts, and reviewing the FMs and SS to ensure that no theme cluster was alien to the original interview data. Consultations were made with the researcher’s methodological supervisor regarding the formulated meanings, themes, and the four theme clusters. The methodology supervisor was in agreement that the four theme clusters provided the full meaning of the experiences of the participants. The four theme clusters are defined below and excerpts or data trails from the interviews are provided.

5-6. Integration of results and Exhaustive description

The fifth and the sixth steps in Colaizzi's method of analysis are integrating the results of the investigated topic into an exhaustive description and identifying its fundamental structure. This was written in as unequivocally as possible. To do this, the theme clusters and themes were integrated to form the description. The formulated meanings, significant statements, and the original descriptions were also re-read.

7. Validation

The final step in Colaizzi’s method of data analysis is validation of the findings. This is achieved by having the participants verify the thematic clusters as descriptive of their experiences by returning to the participants and asking them to corroborate the accuracy of the descriptive results (exhaustive descriptions) with their actual experience.

Personal Information

Name (Pangalan): Sex (Kasarian):

Occupation (Trabaho): Age (Edad):

Edcational Attainment (Edkasyong Nahman):

Contact Number (Optional):

Questionnaires

What is your perception about early marriage in today’s generation?

(Unsay panan-aw nimo bahin sa sayong kaminyoon sa henerasyon karon?)

What was your perception about early marriage when you are in elementary?

(Unsay panan-aw nimo bahin sa sayong kaminyoon kaniadtong naa pa ka sa elementarya?)

What do you think why teenagers engaged early marriage?

(Unsay huna-huna nimo nganong ang mga kabatan-onan karon ningsulod nianang butanga?)

How old are you when you decided to have an early marriage?

(Pila imong edad nga nagdesisyon ka nga magminyo ug sayo?)

What took you to have early marriage?

(Unsay nagdala nimo para maanaa ka niining sayo nga kaminyoon?)

What is your feeling and opinion towards this situation?

(Unsay pagbati ug opinyon nimo mahitungod niini nga sitwasyon?)

How was your life having an early marriage with your husband?

(Kumusta ang imong kinabuhi gumikan sa sayong kaminyoon kauban sa imong asawa o bana?)

What are the common effects of early marriage in physical, emotional, social, mental, and spiritual aspects?

(Unsa ang mga komon na epekto sa sayong kaminyoon mahitungod sa pisikal, emosyonal,ug spritwal nga aspeto?)

What are the common effects of early marriage about socioeconomic status?

(Unsa ang mga komon na epekto sa sayong kaminyoon bahin sa income [socioeconomic status]?)

10.) How can you say when is the right time to get married?

(Unsaon nimo pagsulti kung kanus-a ang sakto nga edad para magminyo?)