Narrative enquiry into the psychological consequence of childlessness among Awutu Senya East christian community in Ghana

Abstract

The joy of couples is to have children after marriage. "Voluntary childlessness" cannot be found in the dictionaries of people in Ghana. Against this backdrop, this study explored the mental health-related impact of unintended childlessness among married couples from a Christian cultural perspective. The purpose of the study was to explore and understand the experiences of Ghanaian Christian couples in terms of childlessness they did not anticipate, vis-à-vis how the Christian community has come alongside them in navigating this phenomenon in their lives. The study's specific goals included examining how couples in Ghanaian Christian society perceive unintended childlessness, identifying management strategies for unintended childlessness, examining the mental health effects of unintended childlessness among Ghanaian Christian couples, and determining the impact of religious (faith-based) interventions and church support on perceived psychological adjustment. The study used a semi-structured interview guide to gather data and a qualitative method approach using narrative inquiry as the design. The study used a thematic analysis by identifying, analysing and interpreting themes. The data was collected and an initial coding was done, a coding was categorize in a code book then it was grouped and refined into themes The study used a sample size of thirteen (13) participants. According to the findings, the majority of participants were able to deal with the difficulty of being childless thanks to the support they receive from their churches, their families, and their spouses' unwavering love. Therefore, it is advised that experts in the field of counselling should oversee the church's counselling department. This implies that, rather than making their members' situation worse, pastors and family members ought to have empathy for them and act as their advocate