Influence of marital duration on spousal violence among married women in Eldoret Municipality, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

The family unit is plagued by challenges that threaten its existence, and one of these is spousal violence. Violence among spouses is pervasive. This study sought to establish the influence of marital duration on spousal violence among married women in Eldoret town of Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives; to establish if marital duration influences: levels of spousal violence, the types of spousal violence; to determine the major factors associated with spousal violence and to determine various coping mechanisms that can be used by spouses and families experiencing domestic violence across time. The study was guided by Karney and Bradbury’s Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation model, a single framework which explains changes in marital quality and stability across time and across couples by identifying some general themes that provide the basis for understanding how and why marriages survive or breakdown. The study adopted an ex-post-facto design, which starts after-the-effect, or the incidence has occurred, does not involve variable manipulation; with both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The target population was all married women in 82,716 households in Eldoret Municipality, from which 150 were sampled from 3 out of 6 sub-counties to participate in this study. The locations for this study were Kapyeimit, Kapsoya and Pioneer; selected on the basis that each is based in one of three sub-counties, to the North West, east and south west of Eldoret town. The sample size of 150 was proportionately allocated. Systematic sampling was used to arrive at the K th household, stratified sampling was then used to fit the data into 5 marital age groups. Data, was collected using questionnaires, whose validity and reliability were ensured by face validity and piloting; coded and processed using SPSS 20 and Microsoft excel. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data. The study revealed that 149 out of the 150 participants had experienced violence from their partners, that majority of the respondents and partners were aged 35-44 years. Logistic Regression results revealed p values of <=0.05 significance level in all marital durations implying that the relationship between marital duration and levels of spousal violence is highly significant. The impact of marital duration on violence type was significant. Factor analysis performed to determine the major factors associated with spousal violence revealed that, alcohol and drug abuse 78.9%, family background 77.4% and having many children 70.3%, were the major causes. On coping mechanisms, 78% of the respondents preferred church pastors in solving their family conflicts, 29% suggested guidance and counselling, and only 22% sought help from the police among other interventions. The study concluded that, spousal violence increases with marital duration and that violence is at its peak during marital duration 14-21 years. The study recommends creation of public awareness of risky factors, women empowerment, and education on appropriate coping mechanisms and behavior modelling by parents through establishment of counselling centers and safe outlets for victims as intervention measures for eliminating spousal violence.