Knowledge and Attitude towards Consanguineous Marriage among Secondary School Students in Al- Mukalla District, Yemen

Abstract

Background: Consanguineous marriage is defined as a relationship or union between two individuals who are sharing common ancestors as the first or second cousins. Aim: This study was aimed to determine the knowledge and attitude towards consanguineous marriage among secondary school students in Al-Mukalla district, Yemen. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted among governmental and private secondary school students in Al-Mukalla district during the educational year 2021/2022. A multistage sampling method was used for selection the participants. The data were collected by using a 406 pre-tested self-administered questionnaire computed from another study. Results: The total of 406 students aged (15-22) years participated in the study. (79.3%) in age group (15)(16)(17)(18). Male students comprised (53%) of the sample and the remaining (47%) were females. Most of the participants had moderate knowledge and neutral attitude (81.3% and 69% respectively). About one half of them heard about the association between consanguineous marriage with thalassemia and congenital anomalies. Friends, school and internet were the most prevalence sources of information. Males had significantly higher knowledge score than females, on other hand females had higher attitude score towards consanguineous marriage compared to males (P=0.002 and P=0.000 respectively). Conclusion and recommendations: Most of the participants had moderate knowledge and neutral attitude towards consanguineous marriage. Educational campaigns are needed to raise awareness at the school level to transfer knowledge from classroom to homes. Social media and television should play an important role in conveying health information to the public in urban and rural area.