Child Marriages and the Constructions of Mental Health Among Young Female Adults in Africa: A Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijarbm.794Keywords:
Africa, Child Marriage, Mental Health, Young Female AdultsAbstract
This paper aims to examine the empirical studies and scholarly articles on child marriages and mental health implications for young female adults in Africa. A systematic literature review was conducted to understand child marriage and the construction of mental health implications for young female adults in Africa. The authors did a comprehensive search of electronic databases using relevant key terms. Findings revealed that mental health and child marriage is under-researched in Africa. The majority of the studies on child marriages were centered on the impact, factors causing child marriage, and human and children’s rights being violated as a result of child marriage. This paper thrives to fill in the gap in the literature on child marriage and mental health. Captivating propositions which could be used as a reference to understand child marriage and mental health implications for young female adults in Africa were proposed.
References
Ajayi, A.I., Chamdimba, E., Sawadogo, N., Gitahi, N., Tarnagda,A.M., Ilboudo, A.K., Munthali, A., Thakwalakwa, C., Otukpa, E.O., Ushie, B.A & Kabiru, C.W (2023). Socio‑ecological factors associated with probable depression among pregnant and parenting adolescent girls: findings from a cross‑sectional study in Burkina Faso and Malawi. Reproductive Health (2023) 20:38 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-023-01588-x
Atilola, O (2014). Where lies the risk? An ecological approach to understanding child mental health risk and vulnerabilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Psychiatry Journal Volume 2014, Article ID 698348, 11 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/698348
Barnet B, Duggan AK, Devoe M & Burrell L. (2002). The effect of volunteer home visitation for adolescent mothers on parenting and mental health outcomes: a randomized trial. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 156 (12):1216–22.
Boyes ME., Cluver LD., Meinck F., Casale M, & Newnham E. (2019). Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV: correlates of internalizing and externalising symptoms. AIDS Care. 31(1):95–104.
Bruce, J & Shelley, C. (2004). "The implications of early marriage for HIV/AIDS policy," brief based on background paper prepared for the WHO/UNFPA/Population Council Technical Consultation on Married Adolescents. New York: Population Council.
Burgess, RA, Jeffery M, Odero SA, Rose-Clarke K, & Devakumar, D (2022) Overlooked and unaddressed: A narrative review of mental health consequences of child marriages. PLOS Glob Public Health 2(1): e0000131. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000131
Callaghan, J.E.M., Gambo,Y., Lisa, C & Fellin (2015). Hearing the silences: Adult Nigerian women’s accounts of ‘early marriages’ Feminism & Psychology, Vol. 25(4) 506–527.
Chandra-Mouli, V., Camacho, A. V., & Michaud, P.A. (2013). WHO guidelines on preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents in developing countries. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(5), 517–522.
Clark, S. (2004). Early marriage and HIV risks in sub-Saharan Africa. Studies in Family Planning, 35(3), 149–160.
Cluver LD, Sherr L, Toska E, Zhou S, Mellins CA & Omigbodun O (2011). From surviving to thriving: integrating mental health care into HIV community and family services for adolescents living with HIV. Lancet Child Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00101-8.
Daar AS, Jacobs M, Wall S, Groenewald J, Eaton J, Patel V, dos Santos P, Kagee A, Gevers A, Sunkel C, Andrews G, Daniels I, & Ndetei D. (2014). Declaration on mental health in Africa: moving to implementation. Glob Health ActionJun 13;7:24589. doi: 10.3402/gha.v7.24589. PMID: 24931476; PMCID: PMC4058779.
Dahmen B, Konrad K, Jahnen L, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, & Firk C (2019). Mental health of teenage mothers: impact on the next generation. Nervenarzt 90 (3):243–50.
Denyer, D. & Tranfield, D. (2009). “Producing a systematic review”, in Buchanan, D.A. and Bryman, A. (Eds), The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Research Methods, pp. 671-689.
Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 55-72.
Dewey, A. & Drahota, A. (2016) Introduction to systematic reviews: online learning module Cochrane Training https://training.cochrane.org/interactivelearning/module-1-introduction-conducting-systematic-reviews
Efevbera, Y., Bhabha, J., Farmer, P. et al. Girl child marriage, socioeconomic status, and undernutrition: evidence from 35 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. BMC Med 17, 55 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-019-1279-8
Colleen Murray Gastón, Christina Misunas and Claudia Cappa (2019). Child marriage among boys: a global overview of available data, Vulnerable children and youth studies, Vol.14, No.3 219-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2019.1566584
Gage, A. J. (2013). Association of child marriage with suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescent girls in Ethiopia. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(5), 654–656.
Gore, FM, Bloem PJ, Patton GC, Ferguson J, Joseph V, & Coffey C (2011). Global burden of disease in young people aged 10–24 years: a systematic analysis. Lancet 377(9783):2093–102.
Hodgkinson S, Beers L, Southammakosane C, & Lewin A. (2014). Addressing the mental health needs of pregnant and parenting adolescents. Pediatrics. 133(1):114–22.
Kessler RC, Angermeyer M, Anthony JC, De Graaf R, Demyttenaere K, & Gasquet I (2007). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Survey Initiative. World Psychiatry 6 (3):168.
Kidman R. (2017). Child marriage and intimate partner violence: A comparative study of 34 countries. Int J Epidemiol 46:662e75.
Kitchenham, B. (2004), “Procedures for performing systematic reviews”, Keele, UK, Keele University, Vol. 33 No. 2004, pp. 1-26.
Koblinsky M, Chowdhury ME, Moran A, Ronsmans C. (2012). Maternal morbidity and disability and their consequences: neglected agenda in maternal health. J Health Popul Nutr.30 (2):124-30. doi: 10.3329/jhpn.v30i2.11294. PMID: 22838155; PMCID: PMC3397324.
Laurenzi CA, Gordon S, Abrahams N, du Toit S, Bradshaw M, & Brand A (2020). Psychosocial interventions targeting mental health in pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents: a systematic review. Reprod Health 17:1–15.
Lund C, De Silva M, Plagerson S, Cooper S, Chisholm D, Das J, Knapp M, Patel V. (2011). Poverty and mental disorders: breaking the cycle in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet.378 (9801):1502-14. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60754-X. Epub 2011 Oct 16. PMID: 22008425.
Mathur, S., Greene, M., & Malhotra, A. (2003). Too young to wed: The lives, rights, and health of young married girls. Washington, DC: International Centre for Research on Women.
Meyer, L., Ascher-Walsh, C. J., Norman, R., Idrissa, A., Herbert, H., Kimso, O., & Wilkinson, J. (2007). Commonalities among women who experienced vesicovaginal fistulae as a result of obstetric trauma in Niger. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 197(1), 91–94.
Maswikwa B, Richter L, Kaufman J, Nandi A. Minimum Marriage Age Laws and the Prevalence of Child Marriage and Adolescent Birth: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Int Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2015 Jun; 41(2):58-68. doi: 10.1363/4105815. PMID: 26308258.
Msuya, N.H (2020). Child marriage: An obstacle to socio-economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal for Juridical Science 45(2)
Nasıroğlu, S., & Semerci, B. (2017). Mental assessment of girls consulting for early marriage and identifying risk factors. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry, 18, 460-467.
Neetu A. John, Edmeades, J & Murithi, L (2019). Child marriage and psychological wellbeing in Niger and Ethiopia BMC Public Health 19:1029 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7314-z
Otoo-Oyortey, N., & Pobi, S. (2003). Early marriage and poverty: Exploring links and key policy issues. Gender & Development, 11(2), 42–51.
Parsons, J., Edmeades, J., Kes, A., Petroni, S., Sexton, M & Wodon, Q (2015) Economic Impacts of Child Marriage: A Review of the Literature, The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 13:3, 12-22, DOI: 10.1080/15570274.2015.1075757
Raj A. (2010). When the mother is a child: The impact of child marriage on the health and human rights of girls. Arch Dis Child 95:931e5.
Roberts KJ, Smith C, Cluver L, Toska E, & Sherr L. (2021). Understanding mental health in the context of adolescent pregnancy and HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review identifying a critical evidence gap. AIDS Behav. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-03138-z.
Khan, S & Noushad, S (2013). Early Marriage: A Root of Current Physiological and Psychosocial Health Burdens. International Journal of Endorsing Health Science Research (IJEHSR), Vol 2, Issue1
Shiferaw G, Bacha L, & Tsegaye D. (2018). Prevalence of depression and its associated factors among orphan children in orphanages in Ilu Abba Bor Zone, South West Ethiopia. Psychiatry J. 2018:7.
Svanemyr, J., Chandra-Mouli, V., Christiansen, C. S., & Mbizvo, M. (2012). Preventing child marriages: First international day of the girl child ‘‘my life, my right, end child marriage’’. Reproductive Health, 9, 31.
Tranfield, D., Denyer, D. & Smart, P. (2003), “Towards a methodology for developing evidenceinformed management knowledge by means of systematic review”, British Journal of Management, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 207-222.
UNFPA (2014). Annual report: A year of renewal. New York, NY:UNFPA
UNFPA (2012). Annual report: Promise to keep. New York, NY: UNFPA
UNICEF (2018). Annual report. For every child, every right. New York, NY: UNICEF
UNICEF (2014) ANNUAL REPORT 2014 Our Story. New York, NY:UNICEF
UNICEF (2012). The state of the world’s children. Children in an urban world. New York, NY: UNICEF
UNICEF. (2006). Child protection information sheet: Child marriage. New York, NY:
UNICEF.
UNICEF. (2005). Early marriage – A harmful traditional practice. New York, NY: UNICEF
Wagenaar BH, Hammett WH, Jackson C, Atkins DL, Belus JM, Kemp CG (2020). Implementation outcomes and strategies for depression interventions in lowand middle-income countries: a systematic review. Global Mental Health 7, e7, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2020.1
Webster, J. & Watson, R.T. (2002), “Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: writing a literature review”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 13-23.
West N, Schwartz S, Mudavanhu M, Hanrahan C, France H, & Nel J (2019). Mental health in South African adolescents living with HIV. AIDS Care.31(1):117–24.
Woollett N, Cluver L, Bandeira M, & Brahmbhatt H. (2017). Identifying risks for mental health problems in HIV positive adolescents accessing HIV treatment in Johannesburg. J Child Adolesc Ment Health 29(1):11–26.
WHO. (2021). Adolescent mental health. Geneva: World Health Organisation https:// www. who. int/newsroom/ fact- sheets/ detail/adolescent mental health. Accessed 06 June 2023.
WHO (2019). Child and adolescent mental health. Geneva: https://www.who.int/mental_health/maternal-child/child_adolescent/en/. Accessed 06 June 2023.
WHO (2014). Mental Health Atlas 2014. World Health Organisation Mental Health Atlas 2014 (WHO. int) Accessed 09 June 2023.
WHO (2012). Risks to mental health: An overview of vulnerabilities and risks factors. World Health Organisation
WHO (2005). Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse. Mental Health Evidence, & Research Team. Mental health atlas 2005. World Health Organization.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ejoke Ufuoma Patience, Edwin Devon du Plessis, Tafadzwa Mabemba, Ngenisiwe Henrietta Ntombela (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.