EFFECTS OF SPOUSAL COMMUNICATION ON MARITAL STABILITYAND PRODUCTIVITY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

A healthy partnership requires effective communication because it enables partners to feel love, trust, tolerance, patience, and the ability to manage conflict. This study aims to determine the effects of spousal communication on marital stability and productivity in Nigeria. This research adopted the Solution Focused Theory of premarital screening and the Sound Relationship House Theory as its theoretical framework. A systematic review method was employed to search the major digital databases to locate all relevant published works that address one or more of the critical concepts examined in the paper, followed by a systematic integration and presentation of the findings. Females typically speak more in marriage; they see it as a way of releasing tension and providing some emotional relief, unlike men who talk less because they view it as un-masculine. Marriages with open communication between partners are happier than those without it. Effective marriage communication positively influences marital conflict resolution, facilitates marital stability, and improves productivity. The level of effective spousal communication was sub-optimal across the country, with the major obstacles being couples not spending sufficient time together, using a harsh tone of voice during a conversation, bringing up memories of past adverse events, not having trust in one's spouse, and not considering spouse's opinion during a discussion, among others. This study showed a sub-optimal level of effective communication among couples in Nigeria, which inturn negatively impacts marital stability and productivity across the country. Marriage counsellors and religious leaders should make premarital counselling and training on effective communication a core component of their services and premarital religious procedures, respectively. In addition, couples should be encouraged to create sufficient time to communicate effectively with their spouses with unbiased minds, trust, respect, and in the spirit of give and take.