Maritial Crisis in the Nigerian Society: Causes, Consequences and Management Strategies

Abstract

This study was informed by the rising profile of broken homes in the Nigerian society of contemporary times as many Nigerian homes today are riddled with marital crises. The investigation was designed as opinion survey using a structured questionnaire rated on a 4-point scale. Three research questions and four null hypotheses guided the investigation, and generated data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of the mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were subject to the t-test statistic. Findings indicated that emergence of crises in marital homes is occasioned by a lot of factors including incompatibility in social and sexual life, lack of marital confidence, third-party syndrome, economic disquiets, to mention a few. Consequences of marital crises were identified to include; poor mental, emotional and physical health of couples and their children, physical abuse and threat to life of partners, escalation of social vices and crimes such as drug abuse, kidnapping, prostitution, deschooling of children of crises-ridden and broken homes. Recommended management strategies include pre-marriage orientation, seminars, workshops and counseling. The education system was identified as a potent medium for reducing the threat of marital crises sequel to which a curriculum approach was recommended, proposing the integration of pre-marriage courses and family living into the Basic Education Programme.