Early marriage of girls leads to?

Appeared in: IGNOU Post B. SC. Nursing entrance-2019

Explanation

Early marriage extends a woman's reproductive lifespan, increasing the total time she is exposed to the risk of pregnancy.
This longer fertility window, often combined with limited access to education and family planning, typically results in a higher total fertility rate.
Consequently, women who marry at a younger age tend to have more children over their lifetime, leading to larger families.

Option A: Early marriage often curtails a girl's education and limits her personal and economic autonomy, which is the antithesis of empowerment.
Option C: Early marriage is more prevalent in and often perpetuates cycles of poverty and lower socioeconomic status, not a good social status.
Option D: Adolescent and early pregnancies are linked to significant health risks for both mother and child, including anemia, preterm birth, low birth weight, and increased maternal mortality.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Socio-demographic impact of early marriage as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses and community health workers play a crucial role in counseling adolescents and families on the health risks of early pregnancy and the benefits of delaying marriage.
In a community health setting, identifying early marriages allows for targeted maternal and child health interventions to mitigate risks.
What if? If a girl from an early marriage has access to consistent, high-quality education and family planning services, the likelihood of having a large family decreases significantly, and her health and economic outcomes can improve.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core concept of the question, which is the consequences of 'early marriage of girls'.
Analyze each option in the context of social, economic, and health outcomes.
Evaluate 'Large families': Does marrying early increase the time available for childbearing? Yes, this is a direct demographic consequence.
Evaluate 'Woman empowerment': Does early marriage typically increase a woman's control over her life and resources? No, it usually does the opposite.
Evaluate 'Good social status' and 'Healthy mother and family': Are these positive outcomes associated with early marriage? No, evidence points to negative impacts on health and socioeconomic status.
Conclude that the most direct and well-documented consequence among the options is the tendency towards larger families.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart A (pp 1-232 of 464) p. 96-98

E6 Comprehensive Textbook of Community Health NursingShyamala D part 1 (pp 26-389 of 389) p. 335-337

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