Communication, Conflict Resolution Skills, And Stress As Correlates Of Marital Health Among Couples In A Selected Pentecostal Church In Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Happier marriages are associated with improved mental and physical well-being. Therefore, this study investigated communication, conflict resolution skills, and perceived stress as correlates of marital health among the married couples in a selected Pentecostal Church in Ogun State, Nigeria. Methods: The study adopted a survey design and used a multi-stage sampling technique to select the three hundred and ninety (390) participants for this study. Four validated questionnaires were used for data collection. Four research questions were formulated, tested, and analysed using descriptive analysis as well as PPMC at 0.05 level of significance. Results: The results of this study revealed that married couples were highly satisfied (mean = 48.726, SD = 8.603), adjusted (mean = 47.459, SD = 5.317) and have high quality marriage (mean = 41.126, SD = 9.594). Additionally, communication patterns (Mean = 4.12, 82.4%), conflict resolution skills (Mean = 3.81, 76.2%) were found to be high while marital stress (mean =2.68, 53.2%) on the average. It was equally revealed that marital health was found to be related with the spouse's communication patterns (r = 902, Mean = 41.164, Std. Dev. = 7.626, p = .000), conflict resolution (r = 489, Mean = 38.146, Std. Dev. = 5.716,p = .000), perceived stress (r = - .615, Mean = 21.441, Std. Dev. = 4.229, p = .000). Conclusion: Sequel to the findings of this study, it is concluded that communication, conflict resolution skills, and perceived stress are gool correlates of marital health, while most couples in the study area reported high levels of marital satisfaction, marital adjustment, and marital quality. It was recommended that couples should be encouraged to engage in programs and workshops that promote effective communication and conflict resolution skills to enhance marital health. Communication, conflict resolution skills, couples, marital adjustment, marital quality, marital satisfaction, Stress