Takeaways from Implementing a Parent-Adolescent Intervention Targeting Early Marriage in Bangladesh

Women who marry as adolescents attain less education, have poorer health outcomes for themselves and their children, and are more prone to domestic violence than women who marry later in life. Yet early marriage remains prevalent in many parts of the world.

A growing body of evidence suggests that early marriage results from a complex interaction of economic insecurity, social norms, and concerns about securing a good marriage outcome—especially for girls from economically disadvantaged households. Together, these factors create a trade-off for families between the benefits of continuing education for their daughters and the risks of delaying marriage. In contexts where the perceived returns to education or employment are uncertain, or where delaying marriage can be perceived to signal poor bride quality and result in penalties in the marriage market, families may choose early marriage.

A range of interventions have been tested to address this challenge. We know that financial incentives, education and work opportunities for young women, and life skills training can delay marriage. But less is known about the role of parent-adolescent communication and trust, and adolescent agency in shaping marriage outcomes. To explore this, we designed and piloted an intervention in rural Bangladesh aimed at strengthening the parent-adolescent bond, targeting poor and ultra-poor households. In this note, we share insights on intervention design and beneficiary engagement from observational and qualitative data that could be useful to practitioners and researchers working on earlier marriage in similar settings.

A new angle to addressing early marriage: Creating connection, building trust

Existing interventions aiming to prevent early marriage have focused on exploring the role of developing life and technical skills, engaging adolescent boys and girls on gender sensitivity and equality, and addressing internalised and societally restrictive gender norms through sessions with girls and the community. Particularly in Bangladesh, offering financial incentives has been found to have short- and long-term effects on reducing early marriage and increasing enrolment.

Although still underexplored, descriptive evidence in India, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Peru suggests that good parent-child communication and good quality relationships relate to a lower likelihood of early marriage. This is an important aspect of the decision-making process, as conversations about marriage or intimate relationships can often strain parent-adolescent communications, given the sensitivity of these topics. Adolescent girls, in particular, are often reluctant to express their educational or employment aspirations, given that these decisions are contingent on parental approval.

Motivated by this, we developed an intervention titled “Creating Connection, Building Trust,” aimed at improving parent-adolescent relationships. By strengthening communication, trust, and mutual understanding of preferences and aspirations, while fostering greater adolescent participation in decisions about their future, the intervention seeks to influence decisions regarding continuing education and delaying marriage.

The program delivered eight in-person sessions for parents (mothers and fathers) and their adolescents (Figure 1). The sessions covered critical topics on puberty changes (i.e., what it means to grow), the creation of supportive networks, social norms and gender inequalities, and scenarios for healthy futures for girls and boys. Designed around positive parenting principles, the sessions aimed to bridge the gap between parents’ and adolescents’ perspectives on the adolescent’s future, while encouraging adolescent involvement in decisions regarding their future.

The program prioritised engaging both mothers and fathers to assess the feasibility and the impact of involving both parents, recognising that unequal bargaining power and differences in parents’ preferences about children’s marriage, schooling and well-being, can influence decisions about children’s future. Additionally, the intervention was designed to include adolescent boys, acknowledging that the groom’s side greatly influences the marriage market. We also held two community engagement sessions to raise awareness of prevailing restrictive gender norms. The first session was held with community leaders to inform them about the intervention. The second session involved the entire community and focused on sharing information about practices that support girls’ education.

Figure 1. Session topic overview

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What we learned: Five takeaways

Five key takeaways emerged from our work (Figure 2):

Figure 2. Key takeaways from our parent-adolescent intervention

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Key takeaway 1: Using games and activities in each session helped drive active participation, engagement, and interest

Since our sessions were 60-90 minutes long, we incorporated activities in the form of role plays and games into each session. Participant observations indicated that these activities were effective in maintaining their engagement and enthusiasm during the sessions.

Activities that allowed participants to broaden their perspectives, for instance, by swapping traditionally gendered tasks, encouraged the most reflection on perceptions of gender roles among both parents and adolescents. Most girls reported purchasing groceries or fixing electrical appliances—activities that are commonly associated with males—while a few of them were able to persuade their brothers to undertake tasks such as washing the dishes or cleaning the house—tasks which are typically considered feminine. Although exclusively assigned to adolescents, focus group discussion findings suggest that this activity might have influenced mothers' perceptions of equality and gender roles, at least in regard to domestic responsibilities.

Other exercises, such as mapping safe spaces in their village, stimulated conversations about shared experiences, concerns, and solutions (Figure 3). By identifying key destinations, travel patterns, and perceived safe or unsafe spaces, participants, especially adolescent girls, were able to share personal experiences and reflect on barriers to mobility and access. Activities such as this one could not only reveal gendered constraints on movement but also create space for dialogue on how these limitations affect girls’ agency. Importantly, they offer the potential to highlight to others in the broader community where girls feel unsafe, and they could prompt reflection on shared responsibilities for improving safety. This exemplifies how interactive tools can deepen engagement and surface shared concerns.

Future interventions should consider integrating more interactive activities, as these not only sustain engagement but also effectively convey challenging concepts, such as gender norms, in an accessible and impactful way.

Figure 3. Mapping exercise to depict safe spaces in Bagmara and Pirojpur

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Note: In this exercise, participants were asked to pictorially represent (i) frequently visited locations (e.g., school, market, shops, riverbank, restaurant/food shop); (ii) distances of these locations; (iii) purpose to visit; (iv) frequency of visits; (v) mode of travel and average travel time; (vi) if you can travel alone or with someone; (vii) places you wish to travel to but cannot.

Key takeaway 2: The gender of the facilitator plays a crucial role in the effective delivery of the sessions, with female facilitators more likely to create a comfortable environment for all participants

Facilitators or mentors are critical for the successful delivery of interventions. As discussed in existing research, facilitators’ gender, age, and qualifications can influence the quality of implementation and the beneficiary's responsiveness. For our intervention, we originally planned to conduct joint adolescent sessions for both boys and girls in a single location—and for this reason, some sessions were planned to be given by male facilitators. Yet, findings from participant observations showed that adolescent girls felt uneasy in the presence of a male facilitator and adolescent boys, requiring us to separate the two groups and ensure that no males were present in the venue during the sessions with girls.

For future such interventions, we recommend ensuring that a female facilitator is present during sessions regardless of the age or gender of the target participants, especially in rural areas where interactions with males (outside of one's immediate family) are discouraged and considered inappropriate. This, of course, will be context-dependent. For example, the Legion of Stars intervention in India was mainly delivered by male facilitators as women’s mobility restrictions limited their participation in the program as facilitators. We need more evidence on the effect of facilitator gender on intervention effectiveness.

Key takeaway 3: Who attends the intervention sessions is as important as who doesn’t

As described above, our intervention was designed to reach all actors, including adolescents (girls and boys), parents (mothers and fathers), and the community. In our pilot, we found that it was much easier to engage mothers and adolescent girls consistently throughout the intervention, but fathers and adolescent boys were either absent or unable to attend these sessions.

We took into account the potential unavailability of fathers throughout the majority of the intervention delivery period, and as a result, we only included their engagement in three sessions (out of eight), to be delivered over the weekends when fathers are ostensibly free. What we didn't expect was their complete lack of participation. Fathers were invited to participate in the sessions via their spouses. Facilitators could have engaged more directly with fathers to remind them about the sessions, but this required evening visits, which were not logistically feasible at the time of our intervention. As a result, it is unclear if the fathers' lack of participation was voluntary, implying they were aware of the sessions but chose not to attend, or if their spouses neglected/forgot to relay the information to them. Understanding effective ways to involve fathers and their impact on early marriage interventions remains an open question. Future work should carefully assess how best to involve fathers, including whether joint or separate sessions for mothers and fathers would be more impactful.

Key takeaway 4: Structured group sessions can improve mother-daughter communication, especially for mothers

Participant observations documented active engagement from girls and mothers, characterised by their enthusiasm, inquisitiveness, and open dialogue. This was also reflected in their feedback reports, suggesting that participants integrated the knowledge gained from the sessions into their communication and parenting strategies. Mothers reported sessions being useful in improving their communication and relationship with their adolescents. For instance, some mothers stated that they previously abstained from complimenting their children but have since started praising the desired behaviour of their adolescents. Additionally, findings suggest that some mothers shifted their perspectives away from harsh disciplinary measures, expressing that after the intervention, they consciously chose to address conflicts through assertive communication rather than resorting to physical discipline.

One mother also expressed how reflecting on her personal experience with early marriage, combined with the discussions held during the sessions, helped her realize the implications of early marriage on her daughter’s future. While our intervention may empower mothers to make more well-informed decisions for their daughters, it is crucial to recognise that typically fathers, who were mostly absent from the sessions, still wield the main decision-making authority within households, and hence the importance of finding effective ways to involve parents (especially fathers) in the intervention activities. Particularly if involving fathers remains unfeasible, building on existing evidence, interventions should consider incorporating activities that help mothers apply the communication techniques they have learned in their interactions with their partner to influence decisions regarding their child’s future.

Key takeaway 5: Community engagement is critical, even if not always feasible

We recognise the importance of engaging not only households with adolescents but also the broader community, given its potential influence on the social norms that drive some marital decisions. Our intervention engaged the community through two sessions (although we initially considered more, time and budgetary constraints made this unfeasible). The first introductory session informed the community about the intervention. The second, held after program completion, provided a platform for all program participants to share their experiences with the rest of the community.

Both sessions were well attended and received positively. We believe that increasing community involvement, such as by adding more community sessions, could potentially increase program effectiveness in shifting social norms. Community-level interventions can help change rigid norms, improving perceptions of women’s and adolescents’ choices and reducing the risks of deviating from existing expectations. In India, for example, holding sessions with adolescent girls and engaging the community through role play and interactive discussions on girls' education and marriage led to lower rates of early marriage, higher school enrolment, and improved adolescent girls’ mental health. Future work should seek a deeper understanding of how the perspectives of influential actors—such as community leaders, neighbors, and close networks—differ and interact, to either help reduce the fear of deviating from perceived social norms or reinforce restrictive norms that contribute to early marriage.

Community involvement could also help safeguard against potential negative unintended consequences for participating households. The possibility of being stigmatised as a deviant (“bad girl”) by society may raise concerns about whether participation in the intervention or the discussion of certain topics could have adverse effects on the recipients if they choose to deviate from stringent gender norms. Therefore, any intervention must carefully consider the possibility of negative repercussions or unintended consequences due to entrenched social and community norms and plan to minimize any potential risk of harm.

Motivating future work

We believe improving parent-adolescent communication and trust, with a focus on child well-being, is an important and underexplored research avenue to advance the agenda of improving girls’ education, reducing early marriage rates, and transforming girls’ life trajectories in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in contexts with stringent gender norms. Relative to other interventions deployed to address child marriage, such as financial support via conditional and unconditional cash transfers, or life skills and livelihoods training, programs focused on improving parent-adolescent relationships and communication may offer several advantages.

First, these programs can target both in-school and out-of-school girls and boys.

Second, rather than focusing solely on adolescents’ skills (as some life skills training interventions have), effectively engaging parents to strengthen the parent-child bond in the decision-making process regarding the child's future—along with engaging the community as a whole—could foster more sustained, self-reinforcing behavioural and normative change.

Third, parent-adolescent programs, such as our Creating Connection, Building Trust program, could be relatively easily integrated into other interventions, including those that offer financial incentives. Household financial duress remains a key driver of early marriage, and financial incentive programs have proven to be cost-effective in preventing underage marriage. Combining programs targeted at improving the parent-adolescent bond with financial incentives, such as those offered through BRAC’s Ultra Poor Graduation Programme or cash transfers, could generate broader and longer-lasting impacts than providing only financial support.

There is a lot more we need to know. A better understanding of the dynamics between parents, adolescents, communities, and broader societal norms is essential for developing more effective programs. More research is needed to examine the comparative role and effectiveness of interventions targeting early marriage—how and whether they should be bundled together, who should be targeted (fathers, mothers, community members, girls, and boys), when in a child's life these interventions would be most effective, and which interventions lead to sustained change over time. We hope that insights from this pilot will inspire further research on this critical topic.

Many thanks to Kehinde Ajayi, Biniam Bedasso, Rachel Glennerster, and Eeshani Kandpal for their comments and contributions.

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