Key Social Norms Take-aways This study demonstrates that strong social norms—specifically empirical expectations (beliefs about what others do) and normative expectations (beliefs about what others think one should do)—significantly influence parents’ intentions to marry off their adolescent daughters before age 18 in Eastern Ethiopia. The findings show that even when parents are aware of the legal and health risks of early marriage, prevailing community norms and expectations still play a dominant role in shaping their decisions. Efforts to reduce early marriage must address these entrenched norms, especially in rural areas, and promote shifts through education, community engagement, and norm transformation strategies.
Objectives The study aimed to examine the role of social norms in shaping parents’ intentions toward early marriage of their adolescent daughters in Eastern Ethiopia, using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a conceptual framework.
Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November 2019 among 859 mother-father pairs of unmarried girls aged 13–17 in Kersa HDSS, Eastern Ethiopia. Multistage cluster sampling was used. Data were collected via structured, pre-tested questionnaires incorporating components from the Theory of Planned Behavior. Key variables included attitude toward early marriage, empirical and normative expectations, sanctions, and knowledge of legal and health consequences. Adjusted Prevalence Ratios were calculated using log-binomial regression.
Results The prevalence of intention to marry off daughters early was 39.7% among mothers and 43.5% among fathers. Intention was significantly higher among parents who lived in rural areas, had no formal education, held favorable attitudes toward early marriage, and perceived strong empirical and normative expectations in their communities. Specifically, empirical expectations increased the intention by 2.21 times among mothers and 1.43 times among fathers; normative expectations increased the intention by 1.27 times for mothers and 1.32 times for fathers. Interestingly, knowledge of legal or health consequences of early marriage did not significantly deter intentions. Fathers were more likely than mothers to be the final decision-makers on marriage matters, reflecting gendered power dynamics.
Conclusions Despite widespread knowledge of the legal and health consequences of early marriage, a substantial proportion of parents still intend to marry off their daughters early due to powerful social norms. Interventions must move beyond information campaigns and instead target these local norms directly, especially among less educated and rural populations. Engaging male decision-makers and leveraging community influencers such as religious and traditional leaders will be crucial in shifting normative expectations and reducing early marriage.