Table 2. Basic demographic and methodological characteristics of included articles.
| No. | Authors (Year) | Place of study | Participants | Age of women interviewed (group mean) | Women’s age at marriage (mean) | Sample Size | Research Design | Data Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Callaghan et al. (2015) | Nigeria (Sokoto state) | Nigerian married women | 25–35 | 8–15 | 6 | Interpretive phenomenological analysis | Individual interviews |
| 2 | Cherri et al. (2017) | Lebanon (Beirut and Mount Lebanon, South, North, and Bekaa) | Syrian refugee women (married and unmarried) | 15–49 | no data | 108 | Thematic analysis | FGDs |
| 3 | Mangeli et al. (2017) | Iran (Kerman province) | Iranian mothers | adolescents | 12–17 (15.4) | 16 | Content analysis | ID-SSIs |
| 4 | Montazeri et al. (2017) | Iran (Ahvaz) | Iranian married women | <19 | no data | 15 | Content analysis | ID-SSIs |
| 5 | Mourtada et al. (2017) | Lebanon (Al Marj in Bekaa area) | Syrian refugees (married women, unmarried women, and their parents), and stakeholders (NGO and government officials, camp leader, religious leaders, teacher and gynecologist) | 18–24 | <18 | 61 | Thematic analysis | FGDs, SSIs |
| 6 | Nasrullah et al. (2014) | Pakistan (slums of Lahore city) | Pakistani married women | 21–34 | 11–17 | 19 | Qualitative study | IDIs |
| 7 | Sabbe et al. (2015) | Morocco (Marrakech region) | Moroccan women (married and unmarried) | 18–69 | no data1 | 125 | Thematic analysis | SSIs and FGDs |
| 8 | Sabbe et al. (2013) | Morocco (Rabat, Casablanca, and Marrakech region) | Moroccan stakeholders (teachers, academics, healthcare workers, lawyers, government and NGO representatives) | - | - | 22 | Thematic analysis | SSIs |
| 9 | Vang & Her (2014) | United States of America | Hmong American married women (US, Laos, and Thailand born) | 22–39 | 14–17 | 12 | Qualitative study | SSIs |
| 10 | Mardi et al. (2018) | Iran (health-care centers in Ardabil) | Iranian married women | 12–18 (14.9) | 12–16 (13.2) | 14 | Content analysis | ID-SSIs |
| 11 | Raj et al. (2014) | Afghanistan (Kabul, Jalalabad, Masar) | Afghan stakeholders (religious leaders, police, teachers, NGO and government officials) | - | - | 112 | Grounded theory approach | IDIs and group interviews |
| 12 | Knox (2017) | Lebanon (Palestinian refugee camp) | Palestinian women refugees (married, divorced or formally engaged), and stakeholders (women’ mothers, NGO workers) | Adolescent | Under 18 | 54 | Thematic content analysis | IDIs and FGDs |
FGDs: Focus group discussions; ID-SSIs: In-depth semi-structured interviews; SSIs: Semi-structured interviews; IDIs: In-depth interviews; -: not applicable.
1, 40% of the sample was unmarried or single.