The Lived Experiences of Student Marriage: A Phenomenological Study

In Iran, marriage is considered as one of the social and cultural issues of contemporary time, because problems, bottlenecks, and barriers in the way of young people, especially student population, have increased over the recent years. Therefore, understanding the experience of student marriage is required to provide appropriate information for discovering and investigating relevant and acceptable interventions. The present study aimed to explain the lived experiences of student marriage.
In this qualitative study with hermeneutic phenomenological approach, 12 students of Qom University of Medical Sciences, were selected for participation in the study using purposive sampling. Data were collected through deep semi-structured interviews, and then were analyzed by Diekelmann method (1989).
After analysis of the data, the main theme appeared with 3 sub-themes. The main themes was “self-flourishing in the face of challenges", which consisted of sub-themes of evolution, stability, support, and challenges ahead.
According to the results of this study, marriage affects all aspects of student life and changes their lives. Student marriage is associated with challenges that prepare the ground for evolution. Marriage leads to self-flourishing in the students, which makes their lives meaningful and prepares the ground for progress in the path of life.