Grounded Theory Study of Psychosexual Maturity in Pakistani Early Marriages

This study aimed to comprehensively examine psychosexual maturity among women who experienced early marriages, addressing the global issue of child marriage. Using grounded theory methodology, interviews were conducted with 16 participants, including psychologists, counselors, therapists, and women with early marriage experience (mean age =27.37, SD=4.84). The participants were selected using snowball sampling. The rigorous content validity scrutiny of the interview data involved five subject matter authorities, employing measures such as the Lawshe test, the content validity index (CVI), and the content validity ratio (CVR). The utilization of CVR, typically associated with quantitative content analysis, enhances the robustness of the emergent grounded theory. Through axial and open coding, we identified seven distinct dimensions or selective codes that fully capture maturity in the context of child marriage. The overarching content validity index (O-CVI/Ave) and code content validity index (C-CVI) ranged from 0.6 to 1.00, affirming the robust content validity inherent in the coding procedure. This study addresses the theoretical gap in the understanding of maturity in women in child marriages, offering validated insights to inform policies and interventions, ultimately enhancing the lives of affected women. KCI Citation Count: 0