Family Counselling And Pre-Marital Sexuality Among In-School Female Students In Calabar Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined Family Counselling and Pre-Marital Sexuality among In-School Female Students in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria. To guide the study, three research questions and hypotheses were posed. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design, with a population of five thousand, nine hundred and eighteen (5,918) female students. The sample comprised 700 in-school female students drawn from the 2 Local Government Areas of the metropolis. A questionnaire developed by the researcher titled “Family counselling and Pre-Marital Sexuality Questionnaire (FCPSQ)” was used for data collection.  The data gathered were analyzed with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed that family communication counselling has a significant influence on pre-marital sexuality among in-school female students, family relationship counselling has a significant influence on pre-marital sexuality among in-school female students and there is a significant influence of family structural counselling on pre-marital sexuality among in-school female students (with the following dimensions: intimacy, romance and sexual promiscuity). It was recommended among others that family counsellors should intensify efforts at the propagation and re-orientation of moral values. Community leaders should use the family communication approach to address pre-marital sexuality among in-school female students. Family guidance counsellors should emphasize relationship counselling as it will help to eliminate sexual immorality among in-school female students. The government and policymakers should enforce laws that will enshrine the implementation of the nuclear family in society as it will reduce out-of-marriage sexual engagement.