An Assessment of the Nature and Content of Premarital Counselling in the Bantama Assembly of Christ Apostolic Church International, Ghana

Abstract

The study assessed the nature and content of premarital counselling in Bantama Assembly of the Christ Apostolic Church International (CACI), Kumasi. A sample of 196 premarital counselled spouses were randomly sampled for the study. Sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used. Instruments for the study were self-developed close-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interview guide. The questionnaire included 25 items employing a Likert scale. Five (5) open-ended questions were also used to interview Nine premarital counselled spouses. The items yielded an internal reliability coefficient (Cronbach alpha) of 0.9. The statistical tools used to analyze data were descriptive statistics. Two research questions were formulated and guided the study. The results of the study revealed that general practice of effective premarital counselling and ethical issues were violated. Also, the findings revealed that some topics were sufficiently discussed than others. Based on the findings, it is recommended that a counselling unit be created by churches, fully furnished with resources and manned by knowledgeable persons in counselling, who will ensure that effective premarital counselling will be conducted and not violate ethical issues during premarital counselling sessions. Counsellors will also ensure that all topics are given the needed attention during premarital counselling.