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The Influence Of Communication On Marital Stability Among Couples
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Communication
can be said to be the glue that holds the world, continents, countries,
states, societies, communities, people, the list is endless, together.
Take the example of a group of tourists viewing a picturesque landscape.
Although the entire group beholds the same scene, each person sees it
differently. Why? Each individual has a different vantage point. No two
persons are standing at the same location. Furthermore, not everyone
focuses on the same portion of the scene. Each person finds a different
aspect to be particularly intriguing (Watchtower August, 1993).
The same can be said of relationships. Even when they exist among the
very best of friends, no two people share precisely the same look on
matters; siblings, friends, relations and so on. Not even husbands and
wives, the subject of this research study, have the same view on
matters. The dissimilar perspectives can become a source of bitter
contention. In fact, among factors cited to have contributed to divorce
include personality incompatibility, lack of open communication and
negotiation between married couples (Carter & McGoldrick, 1998;
Gottman, 1994; Kaslow, 1996; Rutter, 1998; Treadway, 1989; Kabali,
2006). Even the book, the Bible supports that view, as evidence of this
is found at 1Corinthians 7:28, where it states frankly, “Those who marry
will have pain and grief†(The New English Bible).
Marriage has been defined by Monroe (2003), as a relihious duty and is
consequently a moral safeguard as well as a social necessity. In fact
when people make choices to marry, they want to live happily ever after.
They want a loving, happy, successful marriage. After they have been
married for a while, and the novelty has worn off, they tend to discover
that marriage does not maintain itself (Esere, Yusuf & Omotosho,
2010). Marriage takes work from both spouses to stay. Marriage is the
most difficult maze to ever get lost in (Angel, 2008) if marriage mates
do not work their differences. Marriage can be like heaven on earth,
just as it could be described as a living hell. It all depends on what
one makes of it. A successful marriage is like food. It depends on many
key ingredients to be successful. These ingredients include such
attributes as trust, love, time, friendship, understanding, honesty,
loyalty, sincerity and, above all, effective communication.
Marital stability can be defined as the endurance of a marriage due to
the cooperation of both husband and wife. In fact, marital stability is
viewed as a function of the comparison between one’s best available
marital alternative and one’s marital outcome (Lenthal, 2009). A
marriage without effective communication is very likely to crumble.
Communication
is a life wire of marriage relationship or any other meaningful
relationship (Esere, 2002, 2006). It is the elixir for ailing marital
relationships (Olagunju & Eweniyi, 2002). With so many marriages
ending tragically in divorce (Adegoke & Esere, 1998), it is more
important now to work on the communication between husband and wife. The
way couples deal with their inevitable conflicts, as a result of
cohabitation, seems to be a powerful predictor of couples’ adjustment
and stability in their marital relationships (Lazarides, Belanger &
Sabourin, 2010).
Marital instability has been linked with more
negativity and less positivity usually as conflicts; negative
reciprocity and difficulty getting out of the negative reciprocity cycle
and more importantly, for the purpose of this study, non-verbal
communication and verbal communication have been observed in unstable
marriages. Unhappy couples display, among others, more criticism,
dominance and withdrawal, and less support and problem-solving
behaviours, and the demand-withdraw pattern of communication has been
linked repeatedly to marital dissatisfaction and satisfaction
(Lazarides, Belanger & Sabourin, 2010). These same set of people
usually are unable to function well in their work places as they carry
their marital problems to their work places, constituting a nuisance to
their employers. These and many more problems escalate when there is no
communication, and many problems are resolved when there is effective
communication in a marriage. It is on this premise that it was thought
important by, any successive researchers to investigate the relationship
between communication and marital stability, as well as the influence
of communication on marital stability.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]The study examined the influence of communication on marital stability among couples in Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos Metropolis. In this study, some relevant and extensive literatures were review under relevant sub-headings. The descriptive research survey was used to assess the respondents; opinions using the questionnaire and the sampling technique. In this study, 100 (one hundred) respondents were selected and used as samples to represent the population of the study.A total of thre ... Continue reading---
