Challenges Associated with Marriages in Ghana: Implications for Counselling on Marital Satisfaction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges related to inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic marriages and how the challenges affect the level of marital satisfaction. The study employed the qualitative phenomenological design and sampled 10 inter and inter-ethnic married couples in the Kumasi metropolis using to convenience sampling procedure. Data was collected with the aid of researcher designed semi-structured interview guide. Data collected were analysed using the six-step thematic analysis approach suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings revealed that the challenges experienced by spouses in inter-and intra-ethnic marriages were not the same. The findings also, revealed that children’s upbringing was a challenge due to the gender-stereotypic nature of spouse. It was concluded that most spouses in intra-ethnic marriages faced challenges with regard to children upbringing, decision-making and household production. It is recommended that married couples: both inter and intra-ethic couples should seek marital counselling services during their marriage in order to help them deal effectively with the various challenges such as children up-bringing, decision-making and household production that have the capacity of negatively affecting their marriage and marital satisfaction.