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Psycho-social Factors Influencing Marital Instability Of Women
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
According
to Gove (1986), marriage is described as the state of being united with
a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife; the institution
whereby men and women are joinedin a special kind of social and legal
dependence for the purpose founding and maintaining afamily; an act of
marrying or rite by which the married status is affected. It is the
building block of human society, and when the foundation of society is
weakened, considerable damage results. Therefore, the growth of any
society depends largely on the ability of the family institution to
perform its role effectively.
Ayodele (2001) defines marriage as the
union of a man and his wife in body and soul. It is the institution in
society in which a man and woman are joined in a special kind of social
and legal dependence to found and maintain a family. Notwithstanding,
the purpose for marriage is far more important than the mere legalized
sexual relationship among spouses (Agbutuin, 1990). To this end, Yahaya
(1998) opined that in marriage, there are lots of stresses, bitterness,
failures and successes. Other factors that threaten marital stability
include age of marriage, educational level of spouse, religion, income,
type of marriage, fertility status, kind of family background of
spouses, communication, culture, etc. From the foregoing, a lot of
researches on marital instability show that many factors are responsible
for the misnomer in marital union.
The term marital instability is
used to refer to the process whereby marriages break down through
separation, desertion or divorce and where relevant to the subsequent
re-partnering of the individual are concerned. Separation and legal
divorce are socialphenomenon which is caused by the couples involved,
and which could either resultfrom social, economic, psychological or
cultural phenomenon. Many marriages remain shaky for a very long time;
some of them recover equilibrium and become cohesive again, this shaky
period may lead to separation.
Nearly everyone begins their marriage
with a high level of satisfaction with their relationship and a high
level of optimism for the future. Yet, marriages end in a divorce for
many couples, while marital satisfaction declines over time for even
more couples. People tend to fall prey to the confirmation bias, they
tend to be more optimistic about themselves than for other, and they
tend to interpret facts in a way that supports their desired view of the
world.
There are hundreds of factors which are responsible for
marital instability in the world today. They range from several factors;
social issues, psychological issues, economical issues, cultural issue,
biological issues, emotional issues, spiritual issues, amongst others.
Even some are as a result of the combination of two factors. The term
‘marital instability’ is a very vast and broad topic. Therefore focusing
on a key factor responsible for marital instability can give us a good
guide on what the term "marital instability" is all about.
Women's
relationship with their partners is grounded on several factors best
known to them (Psychological expectations some of which includes;
regular income, sexual satisfaction, paternal responsibility and
equity). These factors are what they take to their relationship which
serves as homeostasis. It is the things they hold on to, which guide and
sustains them throughout their stay in marriage. Women are usually
satisfied in marriage when their needs are being met by their husband,
and when their expectations and desires are being met and satisfied.
Now, when there's a conflict between the expectations of a woman in
marriage and the present outcome, this would definitely lead to a
breakdown in their social interaction with their spouse. At this stage,
women tend to be so stubborn, inconsiderate, less communicative and
unresponsive to their partner. Indirectly, this is to say that their
psychosocial system now shapes their behaviour. Research has shown that a
regular occurrence of this would eventually lead to a break down in
marriage.
Psychosocial factors as a phenomenon are behavioural issues
which arise from problems or social problems in a society which shapes
or affects the social functioning of an individual in society.
Psychosocial factors deals majorly with the study of how and why people
think, feel and do the things they do depending upon the situation they
are in. It involves studying the impact that the social environment and
group interactions have on people's attitudes and behaviours towards
others. Having said all that, psychosocial factors are those factors
that are responsible for the behavioural change of an individual toward a
person or groups of persons. Therefore, the word “psychosocial†in this
context can best be explained as; how a woman's personal behaviour
about situations in marriage affects her external behaviour towards her
husband.
This study will therefore be aimed at looking at the some of
the psychosocial factors that influences marital instability. It aims
to breakdown these factors and explain how and why women act the way
they do before marital dissolutions. Also, to look deeply into the
consequences an implications of these and how they affect the
development of any society. The psychosocial factors that will be
examined therefore are; level of spousal communication, type of
attachment patterns between spouses, parental marital background of the
wife, and lastly, rate of in-law's involvement.
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 4]
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]Marriage is the institution in society in which a man and woman are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence to found and maintain a family. It is the building block ofhuman society, and when the foundation of society is weakened, considerable damage results. Therefore, the growth of any society depends largely on the ability of the family institution to perform its role effectively. Due to westernization, urbanization and civilization, marriage has suffered so many breakdowns whi ... Continue reading---
