Role of Communication, Age and Education in Marital Conflict

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of communication, age and education in marital conflict among couples. Survey, with crosssectional design was adopted in the study. 200 married couples, 100 male and 100 female, age range of 22-70, mean age of 42 years, participated in the study. The participants were drawn from Nsukka Urban. Volunteers were sought from among local Government staff, business men and women. The self-report conflict behavior scale (SRCBS) was used to test marital conflict while the personal report of spouse communication apprehension (PRSCA) was used to test communication difficulty of married persons. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for data analysis. It was found that communication played a significant role in marital conflict F(1, 189 = 41.68, p < .001. There was a significant interaction between communication and education F(1,189) = 4.64, p< .05. Discussion highlighted the role of social skills in engendering harmony in marital relationships. Suggestions were indicated for further research in marital conflict.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication i

Acknowledgment ii

Abstract iii

Table of contents iv

List of tables v

List of figures vi

Chapter One: Introduction 1

Statement of problem 7

Purpose of the study 8

Operational definition of terms 8

Chapter Two: Literature Review

10

Theoretical review

10

Empirical review

18

Summary of literature review

32

Hypotheses

34

Chapter Three: Method

35

Participants

35

Instruments

35

9

Procedure

38

Design/Statistics

38

Chapter Four: Results

39

Chapter Five: Discussion

44

Implications of the study

47

Limitations of the study

47

Suggestions for further study

48

Summary and conclusion

50

References

51

Appendix A

57

Appendix B

58