The Determinants of the intended age of marriage Amongst Isfahani Youths

Due to the structural and attitudinal changes in Iran, marriage age has been documented in various research studies, but so far, the determinants of the intended age of marriage have not been studied. This study aimed to investigate the determinants of the intended age of marriage of unmarried youths in Isfahan. The sample includes 400 young people aged 18-35 years who were collected using a sampling method. To gather the data, we interviewed the subjects in 2021. Analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple regression were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the average intended age of marriage for boys and girls are 28.2 and 26.6 years respectively. However, the optimal age of marriage for men and women is lower than the intended age of marriage. The gap indicates that marriage is affected by many factors. According to the findings, the variables of religious commitment, work experience, and guidance of friends have a significant relationship with the intended age of marriage of girls. Also, the intended age of marriage of boys has a significant relationship with the variables of education, religious commitment, and socio-economic status. In general, according to this study, in addition to economic factors, values and attitudinal change are also important at the intended age of marriage, and due to the high age of intended marriage, facilitating youth marriage and encouraging them to marry at the appropriate age is very important.