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.
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.