Stuck in denial: ecological Competitors and child marriage prevention among circular migrant communities in Bali

Despite national legal reforms in Indonesia, child marriage persists among circular migrant communities in Munti Gunung, Bali. Employing the Community Readiness Model (CRM) and a Socio-Ecological lens, this qualitative study investigates the mechanisms that anchor this persistence. Through interviews and focus groups with 90 participants, the study identifies a community anchored in a ‘Vicious Cycle of Denial’. Findings suggest that child marriage serves as a functional cultural defence against spiritual impurity and economic insecurity, rather than being a product of individual ignorance. We introduce the ‘Ecological Competitors of Readiness’ framework to illustrate how cognitive displacement (digital narratives), legitimacy friction (ritual prioritisation), and systemic asynchrony (structural-temporal mismatches) effectively out-compete static health interventions, leaving out-of-school circular migrants ‘institutionally invisible’ within rigid formal structures. To break this cycle, public health systems must move beyond information-deficit models towards a ‘Structural-plus’ approach. This requires integrating flexible human capital development (vocational training and social protection), ‘vernacularising’ health messages through shared leadership with local leaders and leveraging digital platforms to transform adolescent value systems. Ultimately, addressing child marriage in mobile populations demands a shift from passive health education towards non-confrontational negotiation with complex ecological realities.