Asian Basic and Applied Research Journal

The problem of marital instability in Niger State calls for concern in recent times. This is because, lack of stability in family and conjugal ties have relevant consequences on demographic, social and economic nature for the persons involved. The study therefore investigated the effect of marital counselling on marital stability among married couples in Niger State, Nigeria. The study was guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses. The study utilized quasi experimental pre-test, posttest control group design. The sample size consisted of 120 married couples based on the 5 percent of the population who met the requirement for the study which stood at 618 educated married couples. The selection of the participants was done using both simple and stratified random sampling techniques from both Christian and Muslim organizations in the Northern senatorial District. A self-constructed questionnaire tagged Marital Counselling and Marital Stability Questionnaire (MCMSQ) was used to collect data for the study. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study among others revealed that there was a significant difference between experimental and control groups on posttest measure on marital stability among married couples. There was a significant difference between the experimental and control group in maintaining communication among couples. From the results therein, it is hereby recommended that marital counseling at any level be it before or after marriage should emphasize communication, trust, respect, financial management and non- interference of third party among couples.