ATTITUDE OF MEN TOWARDS POST MARITAL EDUCATION OF WOMEN

ATTITUDE OF MEN TOWARDS POST MARITAL EDUCATION OF WOMEN

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Post marital education is a way of thinking and living that is adopted voluntarily on the basis of knowledge, attitude and responsible decision by individuals and couples in order to promote health and welfare of the family, groups and thus contribute effectively to the social development of the country and above all prevent divorce (WHO, 2011).It involves practices that will enable couples or individuals to determine the number of children they would like to have, when to have them, that is both the timing and spacing and most importantly, those they have the capability or the means with to cater for. (Fumilayo and Kolawole, 2000).

 

Men are pivotal decision makers at all household level within the rural communities.  The duty of men in the society seems supreme; especially in rural communities they are in charge of the family, they run the world governments, they control religious organizations and they co-ordinate all social systems. (Okeke, 2005).  Furthermore, they play vital role in pregnancy and delivery and transmission of sexually transmitted infections.   Onuoha (2000) stated that African men are mainly responsible for deciding whether their wives will practice Post marital education and the methods to be adopted.  He further stated that the true position is that in traditional African societies, including Nigeria, men are conferred with authority to determine who gets what, how and when in the family. This authority implies that they have the final say on the number of children the family should have, the spacing, maternal health and general level of reproductive health in the family. Thus any Post marital education programme that excludes men is may to have  minimal impact on the targeted population.

Male involvement in Post marital education would increase its recognition, acceptance and practice by people especially within the rural communities. This is because in rural communities in Nigeria, including Enugu, men are still the gate keepers in the families who control power and decision making. Their involvement will  help to achieve huge success in the numerous campaigns aimed at reducing, population explosion in Africa, arrest the increasing surge of sexually transmitted infections and reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality (Onuoha,

2000).

In European countries, statistics show that an average of 65% of men go for Post marital education yearly. In America about 70% of males go for treatment of sexually related infections like HIV/AIDS yearly due to awareness campaigns about the importance of involving men in Post marital education (Davidson, 1999).In African countries, for example in South Africa, about 35% of the people that attend Post marital education and immunization clinics are males. In Togo, it was noted that male involvement in Post marital education and voluntary health screening and counseling compared with the females is in the ratio of 1:3 (Robert and Brown, 2000).

 

Despite global recognition of the importance of male involvement in Post marital education, Nigeria has not developed programmes in Post marital education that fully involve men.  Most Post marital education programmes in our environment seem to focus on women only, the non- inclusion of men in various Post marital education programmes by program planners has made men not to know much about Post marital education and the benefits to their spouses and family especially in rural communities. Yet men can participate in Post marital education either as users of male methods or as supportive partners of users. (Fumilayo and Kolawole, 2000).

 

With the above scenario, one wonders what then will be the situation in rural communities in Enugu East Local Government Area where tradition is still highly upheld. Rural communities have typical characteristics such as: they share common interest, bound or tied to tradition and culture, resist change among others. These make men exercise undue authority or control over their wives in family matters such as issues of child bearing and contraceptive use. All these seem to make the acceptance of Post marital education more difficult in these rural communities (Onuoha, 2000).

Therefore, it is very important to get them involved in Post marital education  in order to achieve better success. This will improve health of both themselves and their spouses.

 

Statement of Problem

The divorce rate in the United States has declined in recent years, but about half of people marrying for the first time still end up divorced. And for those that stayed married, many are in unhappy marriages, which research shows is a risk factor for poorer mental and physical health and is associated with an increased risk for relationship aggression. While altering the course of marriage is not an easy task, psychological research shows that researched-based marital education programs are effective in helping couples stay together and making unhappy marriages more satisfying.

Research begun in the 1970's by psychologists Howard Markman, PhD, John Gottman, PhD, and others found that the quality of interaction between husbands and wives was highly predictive of marital distress or divorce. The studies indicated that couples who interacted more negatively than other couples had marriages that that were in trouble or predicted future marital distress. Negative interaction is considered a dynamic behavior factor that couples can change to improve their odds of staying together. That contrasts with relatively static factors that are hard to change once married, including having divorced parents, marrying at a very young age and having a personality tendency to react strongly or defensively to problems and disappointments-all risk factors for marital distress.

Marital education programs that focus on the dynamic factors have been proven to strengthen marriages. One such program is the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), created by Dr. Markman and his associates at the University of Denver's Center for Marital and Family

preserved.

 

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to determine men’s involvement in Post marital education in some selected rural communities in Enugu East Local Government Area, Enugu

State Nigeria.

Objectives

Specifically the study intends to:-

1. Determine the percentage of men who get involved in practicing Post marital education in the communities studied.

 

2. Identify factors that affect men’s involvement in Post marital education in these communities.
3. Define the nature of men’s involvement in Post marital education
4. Identify methods of Post marital education mostly adopted by men in the communities studied.

 

Research Question

The study seeks answers to the following questions.

1. What percentage of men get involved in practicing Post marital educations in the communities studied?
2. What are the factors that affect men’s involvement in Post marital education in these communities?
3. What is the nature of men’s involvement in Post marital educations?
4. What method of Post marital education do men adopt mostly in these communities studied?

Research Hypothesis

There is no significant association between male involvement in Post marital education and socio-demographic variables such as level of education, age occupation and  religion.

 

Significance of the Study

Male involvement is a promising strategy for addressing the world’s most pressing Post marital education needs (Population Reports, 2008). The findings of this study will therefore, reveal the percentage of men that practice Post marital education and the methods in rural communities in Enugu East Local Government Area, so as to  provide evidence based information for health education.

 

The findings of this study will also reveal the nature of involvement of men in Post marital education. This will help to build better communication within the family and eventually lead to better decision making concerning continuing contraceptive use. Health workers and programme planners will utilize the findings to plan strategies to offer counseling and quality information education and communication services to men, for example, establishing men’s clinic to address their reproductive health needs.

Policy makers will also utilize the findings to enact laws that will see to the establishment of programmes that will encourage men’s participation in Post marital education such as male Post marital education clinic. Other researchers will use the findings as baseline information in their own research projects. They will equally add to existing body of knowledge.

 

Scope of the Study

The variables of interest; include the nature of men’s involvement in Post marital educations, the methods mostly adopted by men, factors that affect men’s involvement in Post marital education and the percentage of men that practice Post marital education.  This study is limited to all males resident in Nkwubor, Obinagu- Onuogba and Ugwuomu communities all in Enugu East Local Government Area in Enugu State.

 

Operational Definition of Terms

Males in this study refers to married men aged (20 – 70) years whose wives are within reproductive age (15 – 49) years.

 

Extent of men’s involvement means the level of their involvement in terms of whether they use Post marital educations methods, support their wife use of Post marital education method, make decision in favour of contraceptive use, discuss Post marital education freely with wife, etc.   The mean involvement will be calculated and compared with the criterion mean for the individual items and for all the items together.  This will be interpreted as follows: High extent  – a mean of  > 3.5,

Moderate extent - >2.5  < 3.5, Low extent  > 1.5 < 2.5, Very low extent -> 0< 1.5

 

Rural community refers to a geographical area located outside the city and town.  It also applies to individuals living in countryside, towns outside the urban area. It also refers to people living in a rural area as defined by National Statistical Office and is calculated as the differences between total population and urban population.  Rural communities also refers to a population that has common interest, live in the hinter land, lack basic social amenities such as good road network, electricity, water supply and basic health facilities.

 

 Nature of men’s involvement in Post marital education means the type of the things they do to show their  involvement in terms whether they use Post marital education methods themselves, support wives use of Post marital education methods, decide in favour of contraception in the home when needed etc.

Factors affecting means involvement are those things that encourage or discourage men from involving in Post marital education such as inadequate knowledge, lack many contraceptive option for men, poor education, information, communication, inadequate knowledge, religious beliefs and culture. attitude towards marriage psychology,how have attitudes towards marriage changed,attitude towards marriage questionnaire,attitude towards marriage scale,attitude towards marriage in india,changing attitudes toward marriage and single life,general attitudes towards marriage scale,changing attitudes towards marriage in india

Means < 2.5 = negative response, Means > 2.5 = positive response

 

Socio-demographic variables in the study are age, educational level,

occupation and religion.

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