Psychodrama intervention to create awareness of health consequences of early marriage among adolescent girls and their parents

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on the lives of adolescent girls. Early marriages have increased due to socioeconomic constraints. It is more common in low- and middle-income countries' rural areas. AIM: This study aims to determine the efficacy of psychodrama in raising adolescent girls and their parents' awareness of the health consequences of early marriage. METHODOLOGY: A quasi-experimental research design with a quantitative research approach was used. The sample included 50 Lamani adolescent girls and their respondent parents. The tool had three parts: A socio-demographic questionnaire, a structured knowledge questionnaire, and a 5-point Likert Scale to collect data. A pretest was carried out. A psychodrama intervention was delivered in three stages, with a posttest 7 days later. RESULTS: The levels of knowledge and perception of adolescent girls regarding early marriage and its health consequences differ significantly between the pretest and posttest (6.78–11.54, P = 0.000). There was also a statistical difference between parents' pretest knowledge (7.41) and posttest knowledge (11.44), as well as between their pretest perception (23.84.42) and posttest perception (29.85). CONCLUSION: Early marriage is harmful to the health of adolescent girls. Early marriages and their health-related complications can be reduced through awareness programs such as psychodrama.

Keywords

• adolescent
• awareness
• early marriage
• health
• parent
• psychodrama