Influence Of Mate Selection And Self-Disclosure On Marital Stability Among Couples
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Influence Of Mate Selection And Self-Disclosure On Marital Stability Among Couples
ABSTRACT
This study sought to investigate the impact of mate selection and self-disclosure on marital stability among couples in Lagos State.
The descriptive research design was adopted in this study. The questionnaire was used to analyse the opinions of the selected respondents and collect relevant data from them, whereas the sampling procedure was used to determine the study’s sample size.
The stratified sampling technique was used to pick a total of 120 (one hundred twenty) respondents. Also, four (4) null hypotheses were provided and tested using the independent t-test statistical instrument at the 0.05 level of significance.
At the conclusion of the tests, it was discovered that there is a strong association between match selection and marriage stability in couples, as well as a large relationship between self-disclosure and marital stability.
Furthermore, the data revealed that there is no significant gender difference in self-disclosure among couples, and there is no significant difference in marital stability between couples who declared themselves against those who did not. All hypotheses were evaluated at the 0.05 level of significance. Two null hypotheses were accepted, while two were rejected.
Chapter one
1.0 Introduction.
1.1 Background for the Study
Because successful reproduction is crucial to natural selection, humans and most other species face the difficulty of selecting a mate. Peahens prefer the most attractive peacocks, female elephant seals, and even promiscuous chimps make choices about which chimps to be promiscuous with (Broude, 1994).
Every human community in the world has developed mechanisms for people to pair up and eventually marry in order to start their own families. In the early days, most civilisations relied heavily on parents and relatives to guide this process.
Parents typically exercised direct control through strong community and kinship networks, which put pressure on teenagers to comply to conventional values. Only a few societies, if any, allow young people to choose partners without the consent of their parents and/or other relatives.
When people stay in their communities or birthplaces, the link of strong kin networks plays an important role in mate selection. Although parents used to manage the partner selecting process, it is now largely up to the young lovers to make their own decisions.
Blossfed (1994) discovered some strategies of mate selection among individuals, such as:
a. Organised method of mate choosing.
b. Self-selection procedure.
c. Friends pick mates.
d. Mate choosing by others.
Blossfed claims that parents choose their partners. Bankole (1991) reported that it is common practice for a parent to look for a female for his son to marry. The preliminary processes normally start around puberty.
According to Fadipe (1990), the usual age for a girl’s betrothal is ten years. Sometimes girls are supposed to have been designated from childhood as the chosen wife for a specific young man, with or without her knowledge.
This, however, may begin as a jest between the two families involved, but over time, the goal grows more serious and, in many cases, leads to marriage. According to Fadipe (1990), this form of mate selection was used by the Yoruba people of South-West Nigeria and other ethnic groups in the country during its early days.
According to Adesomoju (2000), choosing a marriage mate is a form of self-selection. This strategy was quite uncommon in the beginning, but it rarely occurred. Self-choice is the most common strategy today.
This is because, as young people leave rural areas in quest of higher education and better economic possibilities, they are essentially independent of their parents and, as a result, choose their own married partners.
The factors at work can be summarised as follows: a shift in the economy, the decline of rural areas, the rapid growth of some occupations and the decline of others, the allure of cities, new opportunities far from home
the importance of education, and women’s relative emancipation, all of which led young men and women to seek greater independence from their parents. The self-selection strategy is more prevalent among remarried couples than first marriage couples.
Adeleke (2001) discovered that friends can choose spouses for their friends, which typically leads to marriage. According to him, this type of mate selection is popular, both now and in the past. This form of mate selection is common in urban areas, and it is carried out by a buddy who want to match his or her friend with another person or friend.
It is carried out by introducing a guy to a woman or vice versa through a friend. This is frequent among coworkers and business associates. This is especially true for persons who have been through the painful experience and stress of failure. Mates can be chosen by others, such as pastors, marital counsellors, seminar leaders, or family members.
According to Sidney (1991), Jourard (1971) was the first to examine the phenomenon of self-disclosure. The process was initially characterised as telling others about oneself. Since then, a wealth of evidence about disclosure has emerged, resulting in substantial shifts in our understanding of the phenomena known as self-disclosure.
One modification has been to view disclosure as the process of revealing and concealing private information. Making this modification raises numerous concerns about how people choose to disclose or keep information private, and it helps us better understand the process in romantic relationships, marriage, and families (Burgron, 1982; Holtgraves, 1990; Petronio, 1991, 2000).
According to Cutrona (1996), many people disclose themselves to their partners before marriage, and in some cases, this admission has led to their divorce. For example, when a mate, whether a man or a woman, announces that he or she has a terminal condition such as HIV/AIDS, the other partner’s attitude alters, usually adversely.
People do not want their friends to get infected with diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Also, if a mate has previously married and had children before the current marriage, revealing the former marital activities may result in an attitudinal shift or reaction that does not bode well for the relationship.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
There are numerous issues concerning mate choosing and self-disclosure among couples in modern civilisations. Marriages are failing these days as a result of poor match selection. For example, couples have divorced because their spouses are incompatible with them, among other reasons they uncovered in their partners’ life.
This is because human attitudes are unpredictable, and many people, particularly spouses, have been disappointed by their partners’ negative attitudes. This has resulted in a separation or divorce.
Couples may decide to divorce after discovering their spouses’ nasty histories. Marriages, for example, have been broken owing to awareness of one’s spouse’s terminal illness, a history of family illness, or other negative incidents that run in one’s spouse’s family.
For the reasons stated above, the researcher sought to explore the impact of mate selection and self-disclosure on marital stability in couples.
1.3 Goal of the Study
The primary goal of the study is to look at the impact of mate selection and self-disclosure on marital stability in couples.
The study’s particular aims are:
(1) To investigate whether mate selection correlates with marital stability in couples.
(2) To determine whether self-disclosure influences marital stability in couples.
(3) Determine the marital stability of couples who revealed their secrets against those who did not.
(4) Assess the marital stability of couples as a result of the mate selecting process.
(5) Determine whether there is a gender difference in self-disclosure among couples.
1.4 Research Questions.
The following research questions were raised during this study.
(1) To what extent will mate selection affect marital stability in couples?
(2) How would self-disclosure affect marital stability among couples?
(3) How will couples’ self-disclosure effect their marital stability?
(4) Will there be gender differences in self-disclosure amongst couples?
1.5 Research Hypotheses.
The study’s conduct was guided by the following research hypotheses.
(1) There will be no significant link between mate selection and marriage stability.
(2) There will be no substantial link between self-disclosure and marital stability in couples.
(3) There will be no substantial gender differences in self-disclosure between spouses.
(4) Couples who declare themselves to their spouses will have no significant difference in marital stability compared to those who do not.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study will benefit the following individuals:
(1) Couples would benefit from the study’s results and recommendations. This study will help couples learn more about how to choose their mates and the value of disclosing themselves to their partners before and after marriage.
(2) It will also help couples understand the importance of self-disclosure in match choosing and marital stability.
(3) This study will help couples choose matches based on qualities such as love, attraction, and compatibility.
(4) This study will also benefit society as a whole since it will help people, particularly men and women of marriageable ages, decide who to marry and how to be honest with their partners.
(5) The study will also assist fresh researchers and students in making references to this study.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study focusses on couples from Lagos State’s Mainland Local Government Area.
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