An evaluation of the association between participant sex and perceptions of child marriage among Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Since the onset of war in Syria, the occurrence of child marriage has risen from 13% in pre-war Syria, to approximately 35% among Syrian refugee girls. Economic instability, societal norms, and safety concerns all contribute to this practice. This study examines the underlying causes of child marriage by analyzing the association between participant sex and perceptions of child marriage among Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study conducted in Lebanon in 2016. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between participant sex and attributing child marriage to safety concerns or, independently, attributing child marriage to financial insecurity. We analyzed 560 micronarratives, 52.1% of which were provided by women, with the majority of participants being under the age of 35 (78.2%). Men were found to have lower odds of attributing child marriage to safety concerns (OR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.29-0.98), and higher odds of attributing child marriage to financial insecurity (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.06-2.92), compared to women. When stratified by location in Lebanon, men in Tripoli had a higher odds of attributing child marriage to financial insecurity (OR = 2.68, 95% CI = [1.11, 6.50]). Given these differences in perceived reasons for child marriage between men and women, gender-specific messaging and initiatives could be utilized to address the underlying issues that lead to child marriage, and reduce the occurrence of this practice, particularly in Tripoli.