The “Bossman” Factor Influence on Family Communication: The Perception of Married Women

Abstract

The "bossman" factor, the "headship role of men" in Africa, is entrenched in the social fabric of Africa. Nonetheless, there is little attention to how this headship role of men in the family influences family communication. The present study explored the influence of the headship role of men in family communication. The researchers selected 10 participants from the Cape Coast Metropolis and elicited data through interviews. Using family communication theory as a guide, the researchers analyzed the transcribed data and came out with the following findings. Firstly, the headship role of men serves as a barrier to family communication because men serve as the final authority in decision-making, conflict resolution, and children's openness. Secondly, the researchers discovered that married women adopt coping strategies such as effective listening, sex appeals, and third-party counselling. Finally, the study revealed that sociocultural variables such as ethnicity, religion, and gender greatly influence the perpetuation of men's headship role, thus the' bossman role' in family communication. The researchers recommend that counsellors should consider guiding husbands to be considerate in dealing with family communication issues because men overstretching their headship role affect effective family communication.