Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor of Demography, Department of Social Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University
2 Postgraduate Student in Social Research, Department of Social Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University
Abstract
With the arrivalof modernityin Iranthe society normshave changedandtraditional patterns,
especially family pattern, has been under various changes simultaneously. For instance,
theaverage age of marriagefor girlshas increased over the past decades. This paper aims to
determine and analyze factors affecting the gap in women’s behavior and attitudes on
theappropriate age ofmarriage for girlsin the city of Koohdasht. Residents of this region
ethnically and culturally belong to Lor and Lak ethnic groups. Lack of any knowledgeon
marriage patterns ofwomen of these ethnic groups would necessitate this study. Data istaken
from a survey conducted on a sample of 395 once-married women living in ordinary
households atthe city of Koohdasht in April 2013. A combination of sampling techniques
including multistage clustering and systematic random sampling were employed. Results
indicated gaps in women’s behavior and their attitude on the appropriate age ofmarriage. The
63 percent of participants proposed a mean age of marriage for girls completely different to
the age of their own marriage. The gaps are mostly in a negative direction. More than 80
percent of women took part in the test proposed a higher age for girls’ marriage compared to
their own age of marriage. According to this study, socio-economic status of women,
postmaterialist attitudes to marriage, women’s autonomy and age at the time of the study
hadthe most impact on the rate of the gap between women’s behavior and attitudes on
theappropriate age ofmarriage. The results also reflected the fact that the combination of
socio-economic, demographic characteristics and ethnic-cultural factors could provide a better
explanation forthe gap in women’s behavior and attitude on theage of marriage.
Keywords
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