INSTRUMENTATION IN PREMARITAL COUNSELLING : THE USE OF PREPARE

Abstract

The focus of this study is on the use of an instrument, PREPARE (PREmarital Personal and Relationship Evaluation) in premarital counselling. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of PREPARE from the perspectives of counsellors and couples. Additionally, this study examined the reliability of the components of the instrument based on the responses of couples in the local context. The methods of data collection involved in this study included accumulating the raw scores of couples from counsellors and Behavioral Research International (BRI); as well as face-to-face interviews with eight couples and administering a survey to four counsellors. On the whole, the findings of this study supported the application of PREPARE as an useful tool in premarital counselling. PREPARE was perceived as useful by couples in helping them to increase awareness about themselves and their partners. Further, couples also reported attitudinal and behavioral changes they had observed in themselves and each other after the sessions. Besides this, counsellors also reported positively about the use of the instrument in the counselling sessions. However, the study also found out some drawbacks of PREPARE. The reliability analyses of PREPARE were within the acceptable range except for the subscales Sexual Expectations and Role Relationships. Lastly, the need for future research and adaptations to make the instrument more relevant in the local context is discussed.