BACKGROUND:

Age at first marriage is crucial for a woman’s life prospects. Rural women are more likely to marry at an early age. This study focused on identifying the factors that influence the age at first marriage.

METHODS:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the West Guji Zone, southern Ethiopia, from April 1 to May 5, 2024. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 711 participants. The data were entered into Epi-Data version 4.4.3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. A multivariable linear regression model was fitted to determine the predictors of the age at first marriage, and statistical significance was determined using p < 0.05.

RESULTS:

The participants’ age at marriage was 17.5 ± 2.456 years, ranging from 13 to 25 years. Factors associated with the age at first marriage were family wealth (β = 0.922, p < 0.001), mother’s education (β = 0.677, p < 0.001), awareness of legal age (β = 0.357, p < 0.001), lack of punishment for perpetrators (β = -0.600, p = 0.001), lack of job opportunities (β = -0.608, p = 0.016), marriage decision (β = 0.254, p = 0.013), and parents’ family size (β = -0.086, p = 0.026).

CONCLUSION:

In this study, the average age of first marriage in the West Guji Zone was lower than the legal marital age. Girls from poorer families, with low levels of education and larger family sizes, should be the target of intervention programs to end early marriage. Furthermore, the general public should be made aware of the legal marital age.