{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T07:15:54Z","timestamp":1788419754267,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788393600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Reprod. Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In rural Niger, child marriage remains highly prevalent, often functioning as a mechanism of risk mitigation. This qualitative study explores the cultural and bio-social drivers of child marriage, focusing on the intersection of physical maturation, anticipatory shame, and economic vulnerability.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The study drew on 53 in-depth interviews, six body mapping focus group discussions (FGDs), and 9 social norms mapping FGDs with adolescents, parents, and community leaders (n\u2009=\u2009165) in the Maradi region.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We find that participants perceive the biological onset of menarche as a \u2018puberty deadline.\u2019 This biological trigger socially reclassifies girls from children to women perceived to be vulnerable, sparking acute parental anxiety over premarital sexuality and the stigma of out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Conversely, the reported covert use of contraceptives by some adolescent girls, sometimes with maternal complicity, serves to protect reputations while delaying marriage, highlighting complex implications for adolescent autonomy and consent.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our findings highlight a stark gender asymmetry in the transition to adulthood and demonstrate that child marriage in this context is perceived to be driven by the dual pressures of moral safeguarding and poverty. Implications for future interventions include addressing both the gendered cultural narratives of maturity and the underlying economic desperation sustaining the practice, which may be essential for achieving lasting change.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/frph.2026.1922270","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T06:40:39Z","timestamp":1788417639000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The \u201cpuberty deadline\u201d: cultural constructions of maturity, anticipated shame, and child marriage as a perceived risk-mitigation strategy in rural Niger"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Jean Christophe","family":"Fotso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"EVIHDAF","place":["Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aichatou","family":"Hamadou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"EVIHDAF","place":["Niamey, Niger"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ferdinard","family":"Ngong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"EVIHDAF","place":["Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paul","family":"Bukuluki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Makerere University's School of Social Sciences","place":["Kampala, Uganda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1080\/13575279.2019.1701411","article-title":"Understanding child marriage in Ghana: the constructions of gender and sexuality and implications for married girls","volume":"28","author":"Sarfo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Child Care Pract"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2021.09.020","article-title":"Mapping the field of child marriage: evidence, gaps, and future directions from a large-scale systematic scoping review, 2000\u20132019","volume":"70","author":"Siddiqi","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Adolesc Health"},{"key":"B3","first-page":"83","article-title":"\u201cTrading daughters for livestock\u201d: an ethnographic study of facilitators of child marriage in lira district, Northern Uganda","volume":"25","author":"Neema","year":"2021","journal-title":"Afr J Reprod Health"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12","DOI":"10.1080\/15570274.2015.1075757","article-title":"Economic impacts of child marriage: a review of the literature","volume":"13","author":"Parsons","year":"2015","journal-title":"Rev Faith Int Aff"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"886","DOI":"10.1080\/13691058.2021.1893821","article-title":"\u2018If she gets married when she is young, she will give birth to many kids\u2019: a qualitative study of child marriage practices amongst nomadic pastoralist communities in Kenya","volume":"24","author":"Lowe","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cult Health Sex"},{"key":"B6","unstructured":"New York, US\n          United Nations Children\u2019s Fund\n          Is an End to Child Marriage Within Reach? 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