The Effectiveness of “PREP” Pre-marriage Program among the Relationship of Undergraduate Couples
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Pre-marital counselling is a process, designed to enhance premarital relationships leading to more
satisfactory and stable marriages with the intended consequence of preventing divorce. Pre-marital
education programs are knowledge and skills-based training applications to improve relationships.
The Prevention and Relationship Enhancement program (PREP) is an empirical based intervention
program to support for the prevention of marital distress and divorce. It also helps to overcome
marital distress and divorce with short- and long-term effectiveness. PPEP is the one of intervention
program pave the path to measure pre-marriage counselling. The literature review has shown that
little is known about pre-marital counselling and no prior research in Sri Lanka has evaluated the
effectiveness of PREP on the relationship of undergraduate couples. The data were collected using
the mix method approach comprising of pre and post-test quantitative questionnaire and semi-
structured interviews. This research selected 15 undergraduate heterosexual couples (15females and
15males) from the University of Peradeniya for the quantitative analysis and 3 couples were selected
for the qualitative analysis. The T-Test and thematic analysis were adopted as the data analysis
method. The research findings indicated that the T-Test was statically significant at <0.05 levels
indicating the program was successful. Moreover, there was a significant difference between before
and after PREP (t=15.040, p<0.00025) in lessening vulnerability and risk in marriage by
strengthening protective factors among the couples. The 15 university undergraduate couples mean
score for the test was 146.13 (SD=14.738) before the PREP program and it increased to a mean of
176.47(SD=6.892) after they had participated in the PREP program. Couples stated that premarital
programs are necessary for their lives and they recommended the PREP program for both married
and unmarried couples.
Keywords: Pre-marital counselling; PREP program; Pre-marital programs; Effectiveness; Pre-marital
couples; Marriage
Description
Keywords
Humanities, Social & Library Sciences, Higher Education, Undergraduate Couples, Sociology, Psychology