Exploring Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Consanguineous Marriage and Factors Influencing These Attitudes: A Descriptive and Cross-sectional Study

Background: Consanguineous marriage is a risk factor for certain hereditary diseases, highlighting the importance of continuous public awareness efforts aimed at its prevention. Public health nurses play a key role in leading such initiatives. Therefore, understanding the attitudes of nursing students, who are future healthcare professionals, is essential.

Aim: This study aims to explore nursing students’ attitudes toward consanguineous marriage and the factors influencing these attitudes.

Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 585 nursing students. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form and the Endogamy Marriage Attitude Scale. Independent Samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare scale scores based on individual characteristics. Among the multiple comparison tests, Duncan’s test was applied. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify factors influencing attitudes toward consanguineous marriage.

Results: The study found that 28.4% of participants had parents in a consanguineous marriage, with 41.6% of those being first-degree cousin marriages. Additionally, 94.7% of students disapproved of consanguineous marriage, while 5.3% saw no issues with it. Multiple regression analysis revealed that being male (B=2.405, p=0.044), having parents in a consanguineous marriage (B=5.315, p=0.000), not objecting to consanguineous marriage (B=23.443, p=0.000), growing up in a village (B=3.523, p=0.021), and being raised in the Southeastern Anatolia region (B=3.147, p=0.040) were significant predictors of favorable attitudes toward consanguineous marriage.

Conclusion: It can be stated that only a small proportion of nursing students exhibit positive attitudes toward consanguineous marriage. Furthermore, it can be concluded that nursing students’ attitudes toward consanguineous marriage are influenced by sociocultural characteristics. Including the topic of consanguineous marriage as a detailed subject in the content of certain courses in the nursing education.