Abstract:
Background: Cause of early marriage is a complex and different from place to place. Literatures
showed high prevalence of early marriage in different regions of Ethiopia. But the magnitude and its
determinants in the Eastern part of Ethiopia were unknown. Knowing the status and associated factors
were important to design appropriate intervention.
Objective: To assess the magnitude of early marriage and associated factors among rural married
women from February 5-20/2014 in Bedeno district, eastern Ethiopia.
Methodology: Community-based cross sectional study design was carried out. The data ware
analyzed using logistic regression and the degree of association between independent and
dependent variables was assessed using odds ratio with 95% confidence interval
Conclusion: This study revealed that the magnitude of early marriage in Bedenno district. In addition
factors like educational status of girls, family average monthly income, place of birth were and
educational status of the respondent mother were factors that affect odds of early marriage in the study
area.
Recommendation: based on the above findings education of girls and boys, family planning, health
education or awareness creation on legal age of marriage, women empowerment and strengthening socio
economic status of girls were recommended
