Influence Of Domestic Violence On Family Relationship Among Couples
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Influence Of Domestic Violence On Family Relationship Among Couples
ABSTRACT
The study looked at how domestic violence affected family relationships in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area, Lagos State. A descriptive research survey design was adopted, with a self-designed questionnaire serving as the main instrument.
A total of 102 people were surveyed. Four null hypotheses were developed and tested with the independent t-test statistical instrument at the 0.05 level of significance.
The results of the analysis show that:
1. New couples and older couples have significantly different experiences with domestic violence and family relationships.
2. Domestic violence and family relationships differ significantly between Christian and Muslim families in Lagos’ Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area.
3. There is a considerable difference in the emotional stability of children whose parents use domestic violence versus those who do not.
4. There is no substantial difference in the incidence of domestic violence between male and female spouses in the area.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background for the Study
Domestic abuse is a widespread issue in many societies around the world, and Nigeria is no exception. According to research, this form of violence has affected many Nigerian couples’ lives. Although societal awareness and condemnation of the issue have grown in recent years.
Domestic violence continues to be a hidden and ongoing problem due to the abuser’s power and control, as well as the victim’s fear, intimidation, and shame.
Marriage is the world’s oldest and most popular institution. This institution is revered in all cultures, to the point where it is regarded as a fundamental component of any community.
Domestic violence has piqued the interest of numerous disciplines, governments, religious sects, and professional associations due to its central role in marriage.
Domestic violence, as defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) (1996), is a pattern of abusive behaviour that includes a wide range of physical, sexual, and psychological maltreatment used by one person in an intimate relationship against another to gain unfair power or to maintain that person’s misuse of power
control, and authority. Intimate relationship abuse occurs when one person uses violence to manipulate the other. Domestic violence is also known as marital abuse.
The spouse’s function in family relationships is so important that some people attribute it to the ability to survive family adjustment. However, this function is not without its issues.
Some partners have been discovered to be mistreated in a variety of ways, including sexual, financial, and communication abuse. All of these have implications for family relationships.
Domestic violence happens in both typical heterosexual marriages and in some sexual partnerships. The abuse can occur throughout a relationship, when the couple is breaking up, or after the relationship has finished.
The primary components of domestic abuse are intimidation, humiliation, and physical injury. According to the concept of domestic violence, couples use it to control the other partner and prevent him or her from leaving or exiting the relationship.
A critical examination of the definition of domestic violence reveals that it assumes the dimension of portraying women as victims who bore the brunt of the abuse, while males are portrayed as perpetrators.
This could be due to widely held notions that women are the weaker sex, whereas men are the rightful leader of the household and must be respected.
Nigeria has its fair share of domestic violence, as seen by the country’s divorce, separation, and marital dishonesty rates.
According to Ajila (2000), in his study on wife beating in western Nigeria, 32% of women reported experiencing abuse, 21% strongly feel that spouses should be beaten, and 72% believe that wives should be hit on occasion.
Bakare (1986) characterised marital conflict as existing along a specific continuum, which is:
1. Occasional verbal conflicts.
2. Frequent verbal conflicts.
3. The occasional physiological conflict.
4. Frequent physical conflicts.
5. Psychological Separation
6. Physical Separation
7. Divorce.
A closer look reveals that while a certain couple is expected to go through all stages, this is not always the case. Some couples reach the divorce stage without experiencing physical quarrels or physical separation, while others resolve their conflict fully before reaching the divorce stage.
Domestic violence, while common in Nigeria, is often underreported, if at all. Domestic violence has two broad causes.
The traditional causes are those that are widely recognised and acknowledged as contributing to marital conflict. These are the immediate causes that can be identified as contributing to domestic violence.
These include, among other things, sex roles, sexual unhappiness and adultery, ego messages, a sense of control, economic potential, religious conflict, alcohol use, money concerns, childlessness, in-law influence, and so on.
Second, contemporary causes of domestic violence include remote elements that are difficult to see or infer but impact aggression behaviour in marital relationships.
Domestic violence has become a widespread occurrence. It should be highlighted that, just as husbands abuse their spouses, wives also abuse their husbands (Steinmetz, 1977). Only the degree varies.
The question is, given the high percentage of family dispute, divorce, separation, and so on, how well has domestic violence or abuse been addressed?
Based on the image above, the study aims to investigate the impact of domestic violence on family relationships among couples in Lagos State’s Oshodi Local Government Area.
1.2 Theoretical Framework
Three theories will be utilised to explain domestic violence and neglect in family relationships:
1. Resource Theory.
2. The Patriarchal Theory
3. General System Theory.
Resource Theory
Goode (1971) proposed the resource theory of family violence, which holds that all social structures (including the family) rely to some extent on force or the fear of force. The more resources a person has – social, personal, and economic – the more power that person can wield.
However, Goode (1971) found that the more resources a person has, the less likely he or she is to employ force openly. Thus, a spouse who wishes to be the dominant person in the home but has minimal education, a job, low prestige and wealth, and poor interpersonal skills may choose to use violence to preserve his dominant position.
According to Nadin (1998), employed women are less reliant on violent spouses and better equipped to leave dangerous relationships. Women are not immune from the social vice of heartbreak.
Some women (particularly those with higher economic status than their male counterparts) are inclined to play a domineering role in the family, forcing their husbands to play second fiddle in a home where they are expected to be the head of the family.
Domestic violence on family relationships is most commonly caused by infidelity, sex role, sexual unhappiness, a need to maintain power, the influence of in-laws, economic handship, and a lack of education, among other factors.
For example, women who are not allowed to work are more likely to remain in abusive relationships because their spouses can obtain economic and psychological power over them. According to Nadin (1998), employed women are less reliant on violent partners and are better equipped to leave these relationships.
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