Investigation and ranking of the factors affecting the increase in the age of marriage, focusing on policy requirements

The increase in the age of marriage is of special importance as an indicator that affects the delay in family formation and the decrease in fertility. Since increasing the age of marriage is affected by several factors, the ranking of these factors can play an essential role in targeted policies. In this paper, the method of hierarchical analysis and interviews with experts have been utilized in order to rank the factors influencing the increase in the age of marriage. For this purpose, an expert questionnaire was designed and completed by 11 scientific experts. The findings showed that the index of diminishing the value of marriage, weakening of religious beliefs, empowerment of women, the expansion of friendship between boys and girls before marriage, the expansion of movies on home networks, cinema, and the concern of providing suitable housing are the most important indices affecting the marriage age. The policy suggestions indicate that programs at the micro level and in families with the aim of creating a positive attitude towards marriage and welfare facilities at the macro level by the governments can be effective policies. They can also be an effective solution for providing marriage on time.