Marriage Preparation Program
Expressed Needs of Young Adults
Keywords:
Marriage Preparation, Marital Distress, Family Life, Divorce, Violence, YouthAbstract
Preparing for marriage especially in a time where marital distress is significantly reported with less satisfying marital relationships, it is important to save marriages in a country like India where basics of human bonds are only the characteristic of family life. Divorce rates, violence in marriages, intimate partner violence, and marital rape are more frequently reported for its increased incidence. The rates of divorce have increased over the years. Individuals expecting marriage to provide stability, security and a future need to be responsible for the same and be prepared for it before they get committed to it legally. Marriage preparation programs can have a great influence on the decisions of marriage among young adults. This paper discusses the expectations of youth who participated in a church pre-marriage program organized by a Catholic diocese in India, about the content of the sessions. Semi-structured questions were used to assess their needs. The analysis of the qualitative data shows that the participants across two batches expect more sessions pertaining to their needs. This recommends that the Catholic Church needs to extend the topics covered in the programs based on felt needs as well.
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