The phenomenon of late marriage age among Palestinian youth: reasons and proposed solutions - A field study on a sample of late - in-marriage Palestinian youth in the Southern governorates of Palestine

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the reasons for the late marriage age phenomenon among Palestinian youth in the southern governorates of Palestine. To achieve that aim and in light of the study's nature, the researcher adopted the descriptive analytical approach. The study tool represented in a questionnaire consisted of five domains with 34 paragraphs. The study population included all individuals in the southern governorates of Palestine who are late in marriage, totaling 97,749 individuals, divided as follows: 68,616 unmarried females aged more than 25 years, and 29,133 unmarried males aged more than 30 years. A random sample of 300 individuals was selected from the study population.The study found that the study sample's estimation degree for the reasons leading to the late marriage age among Palestinian youth was high, with an average of 3.96 and a percentage of 79.2. It also found that the most significant reasons that led to the late marriage age were health reasons, which ranked first, with an average of 4.11, and a percentage of 82.2, followed by economic reasons, which ranked second, with an average of 3.99, and a percentage of 79.8, followed by psychological reasons, which ranked last, with an average of 3.88, and a percentage of 77.6. Furthermore, the study came up with a set of solutions to reduce the impact of the reasons for late marriage age, such as lowering dowries, providing a marriage fund, lowering marriage expenses, and providing job opportunities and housing for intending spouses.The study recommended urging parents to surmount difficulties facing young people upon marriage, especially in terms of lowering dowries, providing a marriage fund, abandoning customs and traditions that increase marriage costs, spreading the culture of group marriage, providing job opportunities for young people and housing for intending spouses.