Socio-Demographic Factors in Marital Instability among Couples in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu North Senatorial District, Enugu South East Nigeria

The study investigated socio-demographic factors in marital instability
among couples in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu North
Senatorial District, Enugu South East Nigeria. Two research questions and
one null hypothesis guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive
cross-sectional research design. The population consisted of 88,859
married couples in the area. The sample size was 400 married couples
drawn using multi-stage sampling procedure. Questionnaire was used for
data collection. Frequency count, percentage, median and linear multiple
regressions were used for data analysis. Findings reveal that more than
half (52.9%) of married couples had high marital instability while nearly
half (47.1%) of married couples had low marital instability in their
marriages. Age, education level, occupation, number of children and
gender were not significantly associated with marital instability of
married couples (p >.05). However, professional counselors should
intensify counseling in non-school settings through community
education, group counseling, seminars and workshops which should be
conducted in organizations, religious institutions and other relevant
settings so as to create awareness on how to manage marital conflicts
considering socio-demographic characteristics of spouses.