Gebremariam, Mesay (PhD)Kebede, Meron2018-06-202023-11-042018-06-202023-11-042017-05http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/2109Traditional marriage is widely practiced in Wolaita. It has several harmful effects on the overall wellbeing of women who are not mentally, psychologically, emotionally or physically prepared for a marriage life. The intensity of the problem has not been identified particularly for women in Wolaita where the problem is very high. Therefore, this study thoroughly analyzed the result of a qualitative assessment to explore the types of traditional marriage and its psycho-social impacts on Wolaita women. The study is also believed to raise awareness on the relationship between traditional marriage and psycho-social impacts on women in Wolaita. The findings show that most women who undergone through traditional marriage had experiences of depression, anxiety, feeling of immaturity, and have a negative perception about husbands and marriage. In contrast, few women perceived that undergoing through traditional marriage is a means for respecting Wolaita culture. The discussion shows women who undergone through traditional marriage had a messy future about their future life development in anticipating both the challenges and thinking their backgrounds. However, the discussion shows that there are still vagueness and ambiguity on impacts of traditional marriage in which some women didn’t recognize the psycho social impact due to their marriage type. Based on the finding and discussion, providing “post marriage counseling” for women who undergone traditional marriage, the need for familial coaching, establishment of women to women group in the community and training on identification, referral and treatment of vulnerable women are recommendedenTraditional marriage; psycho-social impact; cultural practice; women; familyThesis