PSYCHO SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING MARITAL INSTABILITY
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 social phenomenon which is caused by the couples involved, and which could either result from
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.
Spousal Communication as a social factor involves the communication pattern that goes between a woman and her
husband. Communication therefore can be seen as “the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information
by speech, writing, or signs”. It can also be referred to as the process used by people to create and manage
relationships. A marriage without effective communication is likely to crumble. Communication is a life wire of
marriage relationship or any other meaningful relationship (Esere, 2002, 2006). Spousal communication is a critical
element in marriage as it is an inevitable requirement before the commencement of the relationship and also
necessary for the sustenance of the union. Communication is the heart of intimate human relationship and the
foundation on which all other relationships are built; they also assert that it is the key to a successful couple
relationship. In fact, the ability and the willingness to communicate have been found to be among the most important
factors in maintaining a satisfying relationship.
Attachment pattern as a psychosocial factor is very important in any marriage. A growing number of studies suggest
that, among individuals in relationships, attachment style/pattern is a significant predictor of relationship satisfaction.
In Bowlby’s work on attachment pattern, there are two major categories of attachment pattern between two individuals
in a relationship, and he also laid emphasis on the categories of attachment pattern that could either
sustain or destroy a particular relationship. These patterns are secure attachment pattern and insecure attachment
pattern. The secure attachment simply explains that, apartner with this type of attachment pattern are open to people,
extroverts in nature, share feelings with their partners; securely attached adults would be more tolerant, less reactive,
and prefer smaller interpersonal distances. Insecure attachment pattern on the other hand is categorized into two; the
avoidant attachment pattern and the ambivalent attachment pattern. An avoidant and ambivalent attached individuals
seek emotional distance and extreme closeness, respectively. When a woman is loosely attached to her husband,
such woman tend to share secrets, find difficulty in sharing marital problems, such individual can hardly cope or bear
unplanned circumstances.
Parental marital background of a particular partner is a psychosocial factor that shapes and develops one’s
personality as one grows. As certain behaviours, characteristics and traits are said to be emulated from either the
father or the mother. It is also of importance to know that the parental marital background of an individual greatly
shapes a couples perception about life, perception of other people and how to cope and deal with situations that
arises from one’s social environment. The effect of parental marital background on individuals is quite worrisome
these days, as some researchers have tried drawing a link between a partner’s parental marital background and their
stability in marriage. The word `family background’ would have been more preferable but the context is very broad as
it entails issues like, single parent, family structure (polygamous e.t.c), educational background, literacy level,
parental marital background, family’s social and economic status. Therefore, the area of interest to me is parental
marital background. Some researchers have gone to the point of showing a clear relationship between a partner
whose parent has either separated, divorced or being single and their stability in marriage with their future partners.
Women whose parents have separated or divorced tend to have- higher level of marital instability than their male
counterpart, and the reason why this is so cannot still be fully explained, as there are result which also shows that
men are as well influenced by their parental marital background which affects their marital stability.
In-Law’s Involvement in marriages, is a psychological trend that runs through so many families all over the world
today, leading to serious damages in any dyadic relationship. Marriages are meant for two and not three; decisions in
marriages are meant for two and not three, because most times, the presence or interference of a third person in
marriage isoften powerful than even the two partners involve, as a partner might be influenced by the third party.
According to Bowen (1978) and Friedman (1985), the involvement of a third party in a relationship is as a way of
diffusing some of the pressure and tension between the couple and can have a negative effect on the couple’s
relationship. One major problem most women find hard to cope with in marriage is, when the husband is not strong
enough to confront her, scold her, and talk to her but rather reporting to his in-law without her consent. This problem
affects most women psychologically, and therefore shapes their interaction to their husband and their
marriage socially. At this point, most marriages are usually irredeemable
PSYCHO SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING MARITAL INSTABILITY