Effects Of Teen Marriage

Often times, teens rush into marriage believing that everything will be perfect. However, more than half of these teens experience negative consequences and realize that marrying at such a young age was not the best idea. Skyrocketing divorce rates and other effects such as poverty are evidence of this. Although there are overwhelming amounts of teens for which marriage does not work out, there are some teens who find marriage as a positive choice.

Divorce rates are high for people at any age, but they are especially high for teens. 50%-60% of teens who marry divorce within the first fifteen years of marriage opposed to one third of people who get married when they are over the age of twenty. Even more specifically within the teenage range, a girl who marries at 17 is twice as likely to become divorced as a girl who marries between the ages of 18 and 19.

Also, marrying as a teen can lead to poverty. Teens who marry gain a lot of responsibility that they are not old enough or mature enough to handle. These teens usually move out of their house and can't support themselves and their new family which drives them into debt. In order to pay for their debt, teens are forced to get jobs which causes them to spend less time focusing on their education. This leads to decreased educational attainment because teens have too much to handle.

In contrast, teenage marriage yields positive effects for some. If teens marry because they are having a child, even if the teens divorce the father may be more involved in his son or daughters life. The act of marriage may cause him to feel an attachment to the mother and the child that he wouldn't otherwise. For teens who stay married, they are able to begin their life filled with happiness at a young age and don't have to wait their whole life to find a partner.

Overall, after examining statistics and possible outcomes of teenage marriage the negative effetcs seem to outweigh the positive. For most, teen marriage does not seem like a wise choice.