Science studies ihe Child Brides
By Jane Stafford
HEN 9-year-old Eunice Johns
was discovered in her Ten
nessee home playing with a
doll on her wedding day, an
w
entire nation was stirred to horror and
sympathy.
The idea of a child being taken from
the nursery to face the responsibilities
and physical strain that prove toe
severe for many a grown woman
aroused a storm of indignation Equally
indignant were Eunice’s parents, who
according to reports, insist that the
marriage will not hurt the child, ever
suggest that it will be good for her
Which opinion is correct? The an
swer can be guessed at, but the ques
tion cannot be accurately answered
Not even scientists wtio have carefully
studied child health and development
will hazard a definite answer You can
tell from their faces when the subiect
comes up that these men of science feci
as you and 1 do about the situation But
they have no facts, and without fact.-
the true man of science will not make *
statement
Scientific opinion seems to be that tfu
chief effect of such an early marriagi
will be on the child bride’s mind arn
personality
Her small body may stand the physi
cal strain Kindness and consideration
may. spare her young mind from the
shock of the new experience Such
kindness and consideration will let her
slip as easily as possible into her new
role of wife but it does not keep her
from the chief danger of too early mar
riage.
That, as psychologists see it, is the
danger of a crippled personality. The
child-bride is destined to be a sort of
mental stepdaughter
Taken from her parents' home at such
an early age, she becomes the ward of
her husband Instead of parents, she
fas a husband for a guardian Too
young to know the significance of be
ing married, ignorant even of the mar
riage relation, she can look on her hus
band only as a combination of grown
up playmate, guardian and mentor The
d.-nger is that the child, accustomed at
an early age to this feeling, may never
complete!' outgrow her dependence on
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The 9-year-old bride and her husband—Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Johns, of
Tennessee.
her husband as a i»uide for every
thought, feeling and act.
CUC'H a situation is sad for the hus-
band as well as for the child Neither
can become equal partners and genuine
comrades in marriage The husband
continues to be a guardian and his child
bride remains his child wife.
You probably remember the pathetic
and even tragic picture Dickens drew
of Little Dora, David Copperfield’s child
wife. The story shows what happened
to a girl who married before she was
mature enough in emotions and men
tality for the responsibilities of mar
riage, and it shows also the unhappi
ness this caused her husband Yet Dora
was no 9-year-old child, and while the
young Copperfields lived on a small
budget their living conditions included
none of the physical hardships of Jife
on a small Tennessee farm.
A scene from the movie, "David Copperfield.” in which Maureen O’Sullivar as Dora, and Frank Lawton, as
David, enact a pathetic child-bride marriage.
Discard the romantic, idealistic touch
of a Victorian novelist, which made
tragedy beautiful instead of harsh, and
you can see in Little Dora’s story the
probable fate of the child brides whose
plight has recently shocked the nation.
This may be the ultimate result of the
marriage More immediate effects mav
appear. Little Eunice and other child
brides probably enjoy learning, under
the guidance of mother or mother-in
law, to cook and sweep and clean
Thousands of 9-year-old girls like help
ing with domestic tasks and are quite
capable aids to the busy housewife or
mother.
Left all alone in a home, however.
with the complete responsibility for
running it, is quite dilferent from
merely helping or substituting tempo
rarily Night terrors, sleep-walking and
other signs of nervous and mental strain
may develop as a result of such heavy
responsibility
A LL this, of course, us speculation, not
** scientific knowledge based on facts.
The theory is based on what might be
expected to happen to the average child
married at an extremely early age
These child brides, however, are
probably not average. Scientists feel—
though again there is no proof—that
these little girls are different and con
not be judged by ordinary standards of
child development.
The average girl of 9 or 10 or 12
years would not willingly marry. There
are cases on record of average little
girls being married at these ages, but
in such cases the children were forced
or duped into the marriage, which is
said not to have been the case so far
as Eunice and other recent child brides
are concerned.
Scientists are of the opinion that a
little girl who is eager to leave a happy
home, kind parents and brothers and
sisters and to give up her child play
mates and games for marriage with a
much older man, even if she has no
knowledge of the marriage relation,
cannot be like most other little girls.
Physiologically these child brides are
probably different also This difference
may help them to stand the physical
strain of marriage, although there are
no records to prove that it will Physi
cians believe that even though mother
hood may be physiologically possible
for a girl at the age of 12 or younger,
the strain will weaken her health and
shorten her life.
This is especially apt to be the case
if the little girl has not finished the
period of most rapid growth. The child
may have attained her full height and
matured physiologically, but she needs
more time for storing up tissue reserves
to give strength for adult activities such
as marriage and childbearing.
In warm climates girl, are known to
mature early. Children of primitive
peoples mature and marry earlier than
children of our civilization. Girls of 12
and 14 have borne children and not
long ago was reported the case of a 7-
year-old child in Delhi, India, who gav<
birth to a living baby.
The ages between 20 and 25 have
been found most favorable for child
bearing, but for girls under this age the
situation is different The death rate
for mothers in childbirth is higher sot
those younger than 17 years than for
those older The death rate is also
higher for the babies born to these very
young mothers.
Among the reasons for the higher
death rates of very young mothers,
which means those in the 15-17 year
age group, is the fact that the mother’s
small size may complicate the birth
process. This may, however, be offset
by the fact that her bones may not
have become completely hardened and
her tissues may be more elastic at the
younger age.
A NOTHER aspect of the result of child
' * marriages was described in a study
made some years ago from the socio
logical viewpoint.
Information about 250 married chil
dren, both boys and girls, was obtained.
Os these children, nearly one-fourth
were under 14 years. Os this fourth a
number were only 11 and 12 years. An-
other fourth of the total were just 14,
and the rest were 15, with the excep
tion of a few boys who were 16 or 17
The marriages were largely of a very
temporary character, this study showed.
In 11 marriages the couples separated
within a few days. In a few other cases
the marriage lasted from a few weeks
to a few months. In 16 cases the hus
band and wife never lived together or
never established a home for them
selves
Os 90 married couples, 16 were still
living together when the study was
made some time after the marriages
had been contracted, but in 28 of the
90 marriages, annulment or divorce
proceedings were under way or had al
ready been accomplished
The authors of this sociological study,
Mary E. Richmond and Fred S. Hall,
pointed out an “ugly and difficult” as
pect of the child marriage. This was
the relation between these marriages of
children and commercial exploitation
and immorality. This was found in a
considerable number of the marriage*
studied.
-
Dorothy Taylor, 11-year-old Okla
hnma girl who was married to •
57-year-old farmer in 1953.