ATTITUDE OF PARENTS TOWARDS ADOLESCENTS EARLY MARRIAGE IN OMUMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE. IMPLICATIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLING

Abstract

The study investigated the attitude of parents towards early marriage in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State. Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. One research question and three hypotheses were used to guide the study. The population of the study comprised all parents in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State. The sample of the study consisted of 200 parents drawn through stratified random sampling technique. A self made questionnaire titled: Parental Attitude Towards Adolescent’s Early Marriage (PATAEM) was used as an instrument for data collection. Simple percentage was used to answer the research question while chi-square was used to analyse the hypotheses formulated for the study at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the research shows that: (1) majority of the parents in Omuma Local Government Area had positive attitude towards early marriage (2) There is significant difference in the attitude of male and female parents towards adolescent’s early marriage in the area. (3) There is a significant difference in the attitude of educated and uneducated parents towards early marriage in the area. (4) Socio-economic status had great influence towards early marriage in the area. Based on the findings of the research work, recommendations were made.