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The Relationship Between Marital Satisfaction, Family Relation And Psychological Distress
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1.3 Objectives of the study
The
‘general objective of this study is to investigate into marital
satisfaction and family relation as likely predictors of psychological
stress. With the aid of objectives measures which will be used to obtain
responses from participants, it will be determined if there truly is
any distinct relationship among the aforementioned variables and how the
interrelation works. However, the study does not seek or wish to
identify and label couples who are psychologically distressed or not,
but wishes to investigate if a link actually exists between marital
satisfaction and distress experienced by individuals. The study will
focus on married couples within some selected areas of Lagos State with
the aim of achieving the following
A brief summary of the salient and secondary objectives will be as follows;
1. To determine the relationship between marital satisfaction. Family relations and psychological distress
2. To ascertain if there are any gender differences on perceived psychological stress among married couples
3.
To determine what form of psychological distress is peculiar to the
marriage and how these can be solved using psychological techniques and
methods.
1.4Purpose of the study
The research work will attempt to investigate the following and reach viable conclusions on the following as
i. Investigate the relationship between marital satisfaction, family relations, and psychological distress.
ii. Effect of age and gender on psychological stress and marital satisfaction among married adults.
iii. Forms of psychological distress which are peculiar to married couples.
1.5Scope of the study
As
known in the realm of social sciences, humans tend to be unpredictable
in certain areas or aspects of their lives, and it is not possible to
engage in experimental procedures where participants will be exposed to
harmful stressors which may be detrimental to their health as this is
unethical (APA, 2012). Therefore it is the wish of the researcher to see
if any relationship can be observed within the variables of study and
see how they affect one another,
For this reasons, the scope of this study will include;
i.
Establishing a relationship between marital satisfaction and
psychological distress among married couples within Lagos metropolis and
its environs as well
ii. To see if males and females differ in the susceptibility to psychological distress
iii. Determine if age of married couples also play a key role in the onset of psychological distress
iv. Determine if family relations and psychological distress are correlated to one another.
1.6 Significance of the study
This study will contribute significantly in the following ways
i.
To the married individual; a better understanding of marriage and its
dynamics and how they can adversely affect an individual if ignored. A
better understanding of the marriage partner and how to have cordial
relations with such ones is also a significant contribution of the study
ii.
To the family; members of the family will be able to appreciate family
dynamics better and to have a clearer view of various psychological
problems that could arise as a result of negative relations with family
members. Findings will be beneficial to aid everyone realize just how
the family relationship can help to create a positive atmosphere outside
the home.
iii. To the society; ignorance of
psychological issues is a bane in our society that has done a lot of
damage as a result of misguided information, and groundless suspicion.
With the aid of this study, it is hoped that members of the society will
understand that there are different reasons for psychological distress,
with family relations and marital satisfaction probably contributing
more than originally thought
1.6 Operational definitions of variables
Marital satisfaction
Marital
satisfaction is a mental state that reflects the perceived benefits and
costs of marriage to a particular person (Bradley, 2000) . As a direct
result, the more costs a marriage partner inflicts on a person, the less
satisfied one generally is with the marriage and with the marriage
partner. Similarly, the greater the perceived benefits are, the more
satisfied one is with the marriage and with the marriage partner.
Psychological Distress
Psychological
distress is a general term that is used to describe unpleasant feelings
and emotions that impact an individual’s level of functioning. In other
words, it is psychological discomfort that interferes with an
individual’s activities of daily living. This can result in negative
views of the environment, others, and the self. Manifestations of
psychological distress include sadness, anxiety, distraction, and some
symptoms of mental illness.
It can also be simply defined as a state
of emotional suffering characterized by symptoms of depression (Mirowsky
& Ross 2002). As a result, no two people can experience one event
exactly the same way. This is because psychological distress is a
subjective experience, and is dependent upon the situation and how one
perceives it. Causes of psychological distress include traumatic
experiences such as the death of loved ones, job constraints and marital
dissatisfaction (Bookwala & Jacobs, 2004).
Major life
transitions such as moving to a new area or graduating from the
university can be sources of psychological stress if one is unable to
cope with the demands such transitions place on you or inability to
adjust to the situation.
Family Relation
As used in this context,
family relations can be used to describe the way each member of the
family relates to the other in the perspective of one member of the
family. The family is seen as the primary agent of socialization and
also the “home†from which charity begins. Therefore it Is increasingly
important to understand how each member of the family relates with the
other and how this can have an impact of the married couple. A research
on parental strain and psychological distress showed that the way
children and parents relate with one another plays a very big role in
how stress is managed (Borowski 2003.). when the mother of father
relates well with the kids, it helps to alleviate the day to day stress
encountered by them, but if otherwise is the case, where one has truant
and unruly children, and the other spouse is not helping matters,
psychological stress may occur and this will have a negative impact upon
the family regardless of which person in the marriage has the problem.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Marital satisfaction is no longer a given in today’s world, with different factors contributing to the poor marital quality experienced in most marriages. This study attempted to find out if there is any relationship between factors affecting marriages. Participants were chosen via purposive sampling, where married people were the intended target. Marital satisfaction, family relations and psychological distress were carefully examined to see if there is any relationship between them. Als ... Continue reading---
