INFLUENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND GENDER ON MENTAL

HEALTH AMONG MARRIED PEOPLE IN NNAMDI AZIKIWE

UNIVERSITY, AWKA.

BY

ALO CHINENYE FAITH

2017143035

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, NNAMDI AZIKIWE

UNIVERSITY, AWKA.

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY,

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

(B.Sc.) DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY

APRIL, 2024

1
 CERTIFICATION

I, Alo Chinenye Faith with Registration Number (2017143035) certify this research titled:

Influence of domestic violence and gender on mental health of married people in Nnamdi

Azikiwe University, Awka is an original work carried out by me.

________________________ _____________

Alo Chinenye Faith Date

2
 APPROVAL

This research project titled Influence of Domestic Violence and Gender on Mental Well

Being of Married People submitted to the Department of Psychology, Nnamdi Azikiwe

University, Awka by Alo Chinenye in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Degree in Psychology is hereby approved.

_________________________________ _____________

Dr. Okafor Rachael A. Date

Supervisor

___________________________________ _____________

Dr. O.A.U. Nnedum Date

Head of Department

___________________________________ _____________

Prof. Frank Collins Okafor Date

Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences

__________________________________ _____________

External Examiner Date

3
 DEDICATION

This project is dedicated to Almighty God (The Father of the whole universe), who has

encouraged me throughout this programme; I say a big thank you Lord.

I also dedicate this project work to my lovely mother and guardian for their persistent guidance

and support; my loving family, who have always been my greatest supporters and my inspiration.

Your unconditional love, encouragement, and sacrifices have made it possible for me to achieve

this milestone. This work is a testament to your unwavering belief in me and to the values and

principles you have instilled in me. To my parents, siblings, and extended family, I am eternally

grateful for all you have done for me.

4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My special thanks go to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I ultimately acknowledge

God almighty, the epitome and the reference point of success as the source of inspiration and

grace needed to articulate this intellectual project.

My special appreciation goes to my project supervisor, Dr. Rachael A. Okafor, for her valuable

guidance and constructive feedbacks and suggestions throughout this project. Your expertise,

patience, and dedication have been truly inspirational, and I am honored to have had the

opportunity to work with you. I also express my profound appreciation to all the academic staff

of the department of psychology in the persons of Dr. O.A.U Nnedum (Head of Department),

Prof. Harry Obi Nwosu, Prof. Chine B.C., Prof L.N. Ezeh, Prof. Ossai, Prof C.C. Nweke, Dr.

N.C Abamara among others.

My heartfelt regards and thanks goes to my mentor and guardian, Mr. and Mrs. Kelechi Oboti

and my mum, Mrs. Ngozi Alo who have been there for me all these while to make me achieve

my dream of becoming a graduate. Sincerely I commend their pains and pray that the good Lord

I serve will continue to bless and keep them alive for me to reap the fruit of their labors.

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to my family and friends for their unwavering

support and understanding during the course of this project. Your love and encouragement have

been a source of strength and motivation, and I am forever grateful for your presence in my life.

With heartfelt gratitude, I acknowledge and thank all of you for your role in making this project

work a reality. Your contributions and support have been invaluable, and I am truly honored to

have been a part of this journey. Thank you for believing in me and supporting me every step of

the way. Your efforts and kindness will never be forgotten.

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God bless you all in Jesus name. Amen.

6
 ABSTRACT

The study investigated the effects of domestic violence and gender on the mental health among
married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. 150 (82 females, 68 males) participants,
with age range 20-50 years (with mean of 35 and standard deviation of 21.21 with the aid of E-
view) were drawn from the population of married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka
using simple random sampling techniques as sampling technique. Participants were assessed
with Domestic Violence Questionnaire (DVQ) by Abolmaali, Saberi and Saber (2014), gender
under the demographic profile to get the percentage of male and female to measure gender and
Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ)-20 developed by World Health Organization to measure
mental health. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used as the statistical technique
to investigate the effects of domestic violence and gender on the mental health among married
people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Results show that domestic violence has a significant effect on mental health among married
people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and gender does not have a significant effect on
mental health among married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. This implies that
domestic violence between married people definitely affect their mental health and might lead to
mental illness if not properly addressed. This further implies that mental health issues does not
relate to just a specific gender, instead both gender in a marriage can have mental health
challenges.
Therefore, the study recommends that awareness programs regarding where and to whom to seek
for help in case of domestic violence need to be conducted.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title 1

Certification 2

Approval 3

Dedication 4

Acknowledgments 5

Abstract 7

Table of contents 8

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study 11

Statement of the Problem 14

Research Questions 15

Purpose of the Study 15

Relevance of the Study 15

Operational Definition of Key Study Variables 16

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction 17

Conceptual Review 17

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Theoretical review 25

Theoretical Framework 39

Empirical review 42

Summary of Related Literature Review 44

Hypotheses 45

CHAPTER THREE: METHOD

Participants 46

Instruments 46

Procedure 48

Design and Statistics 48

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS

Data Analysis 49

Test of Hypotheses 50

Findings 51

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION

Summary of Findings 52

Conclusion 52

Implication of the Study 53

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Limitations of the Study 53

Recommendations 54

Suggestions for Further Studies 55

REFERENCES 56

APPENDIX 58

QUESTIONNAIRE 59

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

The state of mental health implies that the married people has the ability to form

and maintain affectionate relationships with their spouse, and to manage change,

recognize, acknowledge and communicate positive actions and thoughts as well as

to manage emotions such as sadness. Mental health gives married people the

feeling of worth, control and understanding of internal and external functioning

(Dinesh, Alex & Norman, 2013). Mental health also involves feeling positive

about oneself and others, feeling glad and joyful and loving. Mental health, like

mental illness, is also affected by biological, social, psychological and

environmental factors. The interaction between married people and their spouse is

critical in building healthy relationships, which in turn can promote mental health.

A lot of factors could affect the mental health of married people. A possible factor

that causes mental health issues in marriages could be domestic violence.

Domestic violence also named domestic abuse, battering, or family violence is a

pattern of behavior which includes violence or other abuse by one person on

another in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. The United

Nations framework for model legislation on domestic violence states that all acts

11
of gender based physical and psychological abuse by a family member against any

gender in the family, ranging from simple assault to aggravated physical battery,

kidnapping, threats, intimidation, coercion, stalking, humiliating, verbal abuse,

forcible or unlawful entry, arson, destruction of property, sexual violence, marital

rape, dowry or related violence, female genital mutilation, violence related to

exploitation through prostitution, violence against household workers and attempts

to commit such acts shall be termed domestic violence (Ronald, Ofoke, Nwonyi,

Eze & Chinawa, 2020).

Domestic violence can take a number of forms, including physical, verbal,

emotional, economic, religious, and sexual abuse, which can range from subtle,

coercive forms to marital rape and to violent physical abuse such as female genital

mutilation and acid throwing that result in disfigurement or death (Nidharshana &

Kavitha, 2016). Domestic murders include stoning, bride burning, honor killings,

and dowry deaths.

When looking at gender, the victims of domestic violence are mostly the female

gender, and women tend to experience more severe forms of violence (Ronald et

al., 2020). In some countries, domestic violence is often seen as justified,

particularly in cases of actual or suspected infidelity on the part of the woman, and

is legally permitted. Research has also shown there to be a direct and significant

correlation between a country’s level of gender equality, and actual rates of

12
domestic violence (Nidharshana & Kavitha, 2016). However, domestic violence is

among the most underreported crimes worldwide for both genders. Men face

additional gender related barriers in reporting, due to social stigmas regarding male

victimization, and an increased likelihood of being overlooked by healthcare

providers. Of the most important factors in domestic violence is a belief that abuse,

whether physical or verbal, is acceptable. These abuses in most cases affect the

mental health of most married people (Malik, 2018).

Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of mental

illness. It is the psychological state of a person who is functioning at a satisfactory

level of emotional and behavioral adjustment (Nidharshana & Kavitha, 2016).

From the perspective of positive psychology or holism, mental health may include

an individual’s ability to enjoy life, and create a balance between life activities and

efforts to achieve psychological resilience.

Violence within marital relationships has been a serious health problem. Most of

the researches on intimate partner violence have shown that it is associated with

poor mental health among the victims of either gender in a marriage (Ronald et al.,

2020). In addition, the frequency, severity and chronicity of interpersonal

victimization has been associated in numerous studies with greater levels of

psychological distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression

and other psychological symptoms (Nidharshana & Kavitha, 2016).

13
Statement of the Problem
The review of the relevant literature suggests that domestic violence is a very

serious social problem and it impairs the mental, physical and psychological health

of gender survivors of domestic violence (Malik, 2018). Ronald, Ofoke, Nwonyi,

Eze and Chinawa (2020) reported that by mid 1990s, attention had begun to be

paid in most African countries to the widespread of domestic violence that is

spreading like wild fire. The issue of domestic violence among married people in

Nigeria persists even to today and not much is being done to prevent it through

taking proactive steps by tracing the factors that precipitate its occurrence and how

to mitigate its negative consequences on the spouses.

In Nigeria, most of the initial researches were intended simply to document the

existence of such violence and thus to construct it as a social problem.

In addition, no psychological researches have been conducted on domestic

violence among married couples especially with linking it with gender and

examining it effect on mental health. Studies such as Cools and Kotsadam (2017),

Ronald et al. (2020) and Emmanuel (2021) either focus only on influence of

domestic violence on mental health among married people or influence of gender

on mental health among married people without linking the two variables together

with mental health. This research aimed to fill this gap through examining the

influence of domestic violence and gender on mental health among married people.

14
Research Questions
i. What effect does domestic violence have on mental health among married

people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka?

ii. What effect does gender have on mental health among married people in

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka?

Purpose of the Study

General purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of domestic violence

and gender on mental health among married people, specifically the objectives are:

i. To investigate the effect of domestic violence on mental health among

married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

ii. To investigate the effect of gender on mental health among married people

in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Relevance of the Study

The findings of this study will be helpful to community leaders, non-governmental

organizations and health care professionals in addressing the problem of mental

health among married people. The findings of this study will likewise contribute to

past studies and also provide guidance and suggestions for future research.

The study will discuss relevant theories relating to domestic violence, gender and

mental health.

15
The study will be relevant as an empirical review to scholars and researchers who

are interested in investigating the influence of domestic violence and gender on

mental health among married people.

The study will likewise provide recommendations on addressing the problem of

domestic violence and gender on mental health among married people.

Operational Definition of Key Study Variables

Domestic Violence: This is a pattern of behavior which includes violence or other

abuse by one person on another in a domestic setting, such as in marriage. This

will be measured using Domestic Violence Questionnaire by Abolmaali, Saberi

and Saber (2014).

Gender: This refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are

socially constructed. This will be measured using gender under the demographic

profile from the questionnaire.

Mental Health: This is the psychological state of a person who is functioning at a

satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment. This will be measured

using Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ)-20 developed by World Health

Organization.

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 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This section assesses existing literature about domestic violence and gender on

mental health among married people in order to deepen our understanding in a

similar regard. It is systematically organized to contain three sections; the

Conceptual review of the study, Theoretical review and Empirical review section.

Conceptual Review

Concept of Mental Health

Mental health does not exist on its own. It is an integral and essential part of

overall health, which can be defined in at least three ways as the absence of

disease; as a state of the organism that allows the full performance of all its

functions; and as a state of balance within oneself and between oneself and one’s

physical and social environment (Dinesh, Alex & Norman, 2013). Which of these

three definitions is used depends on the level to which the basic health needs are

satisfied. These needs include food, shelter, survival, protection, society, social

support, freedom from pain, unnecessary stress and freedom from domestic

violence (which is the case of this study).

The state of mental health implies that the married people has the ability to form

and maintain affectionate relationships with their spouse, and to manage change,

17
recognize, acknowledge and communicate positive actions and thoughts as well as

to manage emotions such as sadness. Mental health gives an individual the feeling

of worth, control and understanding of internal and external functioning (Dinesh,

Alex & Norman, 2013). Mental health also involves feeling positive about oneself

and others, feeling glad and joyful and loving. Mental health, like mental illness, is

also affected by biological, social, psychological and environmental factors. The

interaction between married people and their spouse is critical in building healthy

relationships, which in turn can promote mental health.

Nidharshana and Kavitha (2016) notes that mental health is defined by how

married people think and feel about themselves and their life, and that it affects

how they cope and manage in times of adversity such as domestic violence. Mental

health is seen as affecting married people’s abilities to function and make the most

of the opportunities that are available, and to participate fully with their spouse.

There is a close link between physical and mental health, as they affect each other

directly and indirectly. It is thus possible to suggest that mental health is a state of

equilibrium where the individual is at peace with themselves, is able to function

effectively socially and is able to look after their own basic needs as well as higher

function needs (Dinesh, Alex & Norman, 2013).

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Mental Health Education
Many married people struggle with their conditions in silence. They don’t know

where to turn or how to ask for help, and they often feel afraid of rejection or

potential consequences. This problem can result in numerous issues, which include

exacerbated mental health problems (Ronald et al., 2020). Treatment and

medication play critical roles in tackling mental health issues. However, the

importance and necessity of being properly educated on mental health cannot be

overstated.

Mental health education provides necessary awareness and resources for married

people. It helps break the stigma associated with mental health. Additionally, it can

promote efforts for treatment and recovery. Mental health education entails many

various components. It can be either informal or formal, and it doesn’t necessarily

require a specific curriculum. While there are many areas to mental health

education, the following are a good place to start:

i. Psycho-education: This refers to the informational part of mental health

education. It includes teaching married people about the risk factors and

symptoms associated with various mental health conditions.

ii. Treatment: Comprehensive education also includes understanding the

appropriate resources available to married people who need support.

Treatment is multifaceted, and it may include information about

19
 psychiatrists, virtual support groups, married people therapy and inpatient or

residential treatment facilities.

iii. Support and Advocacy: Supporting mental health means taking an active

interest in treatment, recovery, and the growth of married people. It also

means accepting the condition for what it is instead of clinging to the idea of

an impossible cure. Providing support means practicing active listening

when talking to married people, striving to be nonjudgmental and curious

about their experiences, finding hope and strength even if they struggle with

these concepts and setting healthy boundaries that honor your integrity and

needs. Advocacy entails becoming active in recovery efforts. Although our

society has made profound efforts in breaking barriers to mental health, we

still have a tremendous way to go. Becoming a mental health advocate can

include taking on many different roles. Some considerations include

attending awareness events and showing your support, politely correcting

married people when they use stigmatizing or negative language about

mental health, speaking out about mental health and treatment and

volunteering for a mental health organization or non-profit. Advocacy is a

lifelong process. It isn’t just about attending one event; it’s about making a

conscious effort to speak out against stigmatization and be an ally for

married people who need it most.

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Concept of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used

by one partner in a marriage to gain or maintain power and control over the other

intimate partner (Ronald et al., 2020). Domestic violence can be physical, sexual,

emotional, economic, psychological, or technological actions or threats of actions

or other patterns of coercive behavior that influence another person within an

intimate partner relationship. This includes any behaviors that intimidate,

manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt,

injure, or wound someone (Nidharshana & Kavitha, 2016).

Domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, religion, or

gender identity. Domestic violence affects married people of all socioeconomic

backgrounds and education levels. Domestic violence can happen to intimate

partners who are married (Ronald et al., 2020). Domestic violence not only affects

married people who are abused, but also has a substantial effect on family

members, friends, co-workers, other witnesses, and the community at large. The

children of married people, who grow up witnessing domestic violence, are among

those seriously affected by this crime. Frequent exposure to violence in the home

not only predisposes children to numerous social and physical problems, but also

teaches them that violence is a normal way of life - therefore, increasing their risk

of becoming society's next generation of victims and abusers (Hossein et al., 2021).

21
This discussion of domestic violence is intended to educate the public about the

dynamics of abuse among married people, as well as to help victims understand

their experience, and family and friends of victims to recognize signs of abuse in

the relationships of their loved ones.

Forms of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence can be physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, verbal or

economic.

i. Physical Abuse: Physical abuse is the most familiar form of domestic

violence. It involves the use of force against the victim in the marriage,

including direct assaults on the body, use of weapons, driving dangerously,

destruction of property, locking the victim out of the house, and sleep

deprivation.

ii. Psychological Abuse: Psychological abuse is basically an inclusive term for

intimidating, threatening, or fear-causing behavior. Psychological abuse is a

very complex form of abuse, most of time physical abuse leads to

psychological abuse in a marriage like phobia, guilt feeling, insecurity, poor

impulse control, nightmares, impaired sleep, humiliation, shame, isolation,

forced weakness (Ishrat & Abdul, 2016).

iii. Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse involves the destruction or

undermining of victim’s self-worth and is brought about by persistent insult,

22
 humiliation, or criticism. Examples of emotional abuse include constant

criticism, belittling victim's abilities and competency, name-calling, insults,

silent treatment, manipulating victim’s feelings and emotions to induce guilt,

subverting a partner's relationship with the children, repeatedly making and

breaking promises.

iv. Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse involves the violation of an individual’s bodily

integrity (sexual assault). It includes various form of sexual harms like

forceful sexual intercourse, mutilation of genitalia, painful sex (sadism),

forced oral sex, anal mutilation and forced nakedness (Ishrat & Abdul,

2016). Sexual abuse also includes behavior which limits reproductive rights,

such as preventing use of contractive methods and forcing abortion. Other

examples are marital rape, acquaintance rape, forced sex after beating,

attacks on the sexual parts of the body, forced prostitution, fondling, sodomy

and sex with others.

v. Verbal Abuse: Continual humiliation, either privately or publicly, with attacks

that focus on intelligence, sexuality, body image and capacity as a parent or

spouse. It also includes screaming, shouting, name-calling, using sarcasm,

ridiculing for religious beliefs or ethnic background.

vi. Economic Abuse: Economic abuse results in the victim being financially

dependent on their partner. Victim may be denied access to money,

23
 including their own. These can be contributing factors for married people

becoming trapped in violent relationships. In other words, maintaining total

control over financial resources including victim’s earned income,

withholding money and/or access to money, forbidding employment, on-the-

job harassment, and requiring accountability and justification for all money

spent.

Concept of Gender
The history of the concept of gender is not a long one; the idea of gender does not

have roots in the nineteenth-century origins of sociology (Shiang & Ngo, 2020). In

the past only the word “sex” was used to refer to both the physical bodies of males

and females as well as the different social roles played by men and women.

However, later on it has been found that the word sex is not enough to describe the

many ways in which human beings express themselves, their behavior in culture,

and their social environment. That is to say, the terms male and female became

questionable terms and ways of understanding difference for those who wanted to

talk about the ways in which cultural norms or traditions are created and how they

can change. One’s physical body, after all, cannot explain how they live and are

expected to live such different lives.

Different studies have concluded that men and women have separate roles and that

these roles are not equal (Emmanuel, 2021). Accordingly, the concept “gender”

24
was needed to describe the ways in which men and women are categories created

by society so that what men and women are supposed to do, how they are supposed

to behave, and what value is given to each can be separated according to one’s

gender.

The concept “gender” was used for the first time in the 1940s by John Money in a

discourse meant to legitimize sex change, and it began to be employed in the social

sciences from the late 1960s onwards, hence from that period the question of

gender has come to be central to discussions of social life (Moorthy et al., 2022).

Theoretical Review

Theory of Mental Health

Social Representations Theory

Social representations theory is a deliberate attempt to develop a social

psychological theory of common sense understanding (Cooke, 2014). In several

places, Cooke (2014) makes clear his desire to rehabilitate common sense thinking,

reclaiming the concept from the ways in which it has been denigrated and

dismissed over time. In his conceptualization, and indeed in the work of others

who have developed these ideas, we see the psychology of a thinking society and

of the cognitive prodigal and not of the individualized cognitive miser always keen

to take the short cut in their judgments and thinking. We see a social psychology

25
that challenges notions of a hierarchy of knowledge, with scientific understanding

superior to common sense and instead takes seriously the differing contexts of the

two modes of thinking instead of comparing one with the other (Cooke, 2014). The

social, historical, political and cultural context of the production and maintenance

of knowledge and of communication is paramount.

There is, then, a potential tension when we consider attempts to change

understanding from this perspective (Moncrieff, 2013). Suggesting that change in

understanding necessarily involves making a judgment that existing knowledge is

problematic in some way. However, not to acknowledge that people can, and do,

hold understandings that can be harmful either to themselves or others would also

be naive, and hugely problematic. Accepting existing understanding as the status

quo also fails to enable the actualization of the more transformative aspects of

social representations theory, as evidenced in numerous studies (Jovchelovitch &

Priego-Hernández, 2013). Part of the problem in this case is the character of

understandings about mental health issues. There is reasonable consensus that the

widely reported negative attitudes towards mental health issues amongst married

people, seemingly so historically tenacious, are problematic in that they encourage

discrimination against married people labeled mentally ill and discourage them

from seeking help when they find themselves in distress due to experience of

26
domestic violence (Rubinstein & Foster, 2013). There is perhaps less consensus

about what these attitudes and understandings might be changed to.

In light of the above definition and discussion of mental health literacy, it is

instructive to consider the perspective of mental health campaigns more

specifically on this issue in more depth (Cooke, 2014). Many campaigns start from

one of these two premises:

i. Married people lack any understanding about mental health issues, or they

hold understandings that are incomplete. Mental health campaigns must

therefore seek to fill the gaps, providing married people with understanding

that they would otherwise lack.

ii. Married people hold well-developed understandings about mental health

issues that are incorrect. Mental health campaigns must therefore seek to

correct these faulty understandings.

These starting points are usually similar for other health campaigns. To some

extent, any approach along these lines rests upon the idea that scientific

understanding is correct, and superior to any understandings that might be in

circulation (Cooke, 2014). Adopting a social representations theory perspective

does not negate this, or suggest that anything goes in relation to forms of

knowledge. However, taking a social representations approach does call for us to

27
take into consideration the context and change in the production of any knowledge,

whether in the consensual or the reified domain (Moncrieff, 2013).

Theory of Domestic Violence

Socio Cultural Perspectives

Domestic violence is not a single kind of activity, generally, it involves socially

category of activities that share some common features. Domestic violence has

been described as social phenomenon (Syazliana et al., 2018). Rather than look

inside the perpetrator for the causes of domestic violence, social-cultural

perspectives look in the social situation for factors that may explain why violence

varies in frequency and intensity (Lawson, 2012). This study is intended to help

prevent domestic violence between married people by highlighting the

understandings of the social-cultural integration influences that could contribute in

combating domestic violence between married people.

Married people experiences become social when they share or communicate their

experiences to others. It is the combined experiences of many married people,

shared in these ways that makes up norms for marriages in a society. Within

cultures and societies shared, experiences are organized into categories of events

referred to variously as concepts, constructs, and schemas (Syazliana et al., 2018).

Because of this emphasis on shared experience in social groupings, social theories

are most useful in suggesting ways in which behavior change can be accomplished
28
by addressing social phenomena rather than by attempting to alter married people

(Dobash & Dobash, 2015). Domestic violence is a result of power differences

between married people (gender, social class, age). Social norms provide society

with guidelines as to how married people should act and how their emotions should

be expressed. Therefore social norms control the power distribution within society

that examines domestic violence in terms of socially structured inequality, and

social cultural norms and attitudes (Syazliana et al., 2018).

Other theories according to Sunitha (2016) are:

Feminist Theory: This theory emerged during the decade of 1970s when women’s

movement was on its heights. The theory looks upon “violence” as male coercion

of women. The forms of violence may vary from each other like various forms of

violence are rape, sexual assault, female infanticide, marital rape, and female

circumcision etc. This theory believes that domestic violence prevails due to

unequal power relations of men and women in the society and the family. Feminist

theorists never use the term such as “family violence” “spousal abuse” “marital

violence” and “conjugal violence” rather they advocate terms such as “wife

beating” “domestic violence” “battered women” and “women abuse” to depict the

phenomenon of domestic violence. The theory is critical of patriarchal structure

that facilitates and supports male dominance in society, violence is a means to

maintain male hegemony in the family. The consequent social structure, based on
29
patriarchal values, male power and status, and devalues of the feminine, ultimately

lead to the victimization of women. Also women’s economic dependence is

identified as the major cause of subordination as well as violence against them.

The Family System Theory: This theory emerged during the decade of 1960s to

1980s when more and more scholars and researchers began to understand and

analyze domestic violence from a sociological perspective which maintains that

domestic violence or spousal abuse is one form of family violence. Other forms of

domestic violence include child abuse, sibling abuse and parent abuse. This

theoretical perspective asserts that the cause of spouse abuse lies in the structure of

the contemporary family institution which is a fertile ground for violence. Though

family is a private place so it hides violence which is due to lack of control on

behavior.

Physiological Theory: This theory focuses on nature of evolution and the genetic

reasons which are responsible for violent male behavior. It also emphasizes on

brain structures, chemical imbalances, dietary deficiencies, and hormonal factors

such as testosterone, for violence committed by males. Genetic and hormonal

factors explain the reasons for the greater pre-disposition towards violence in men

than in women. There are also some identified theories which have same relevance

for understanding violence committed by an individual. These theories can be

classified on the basis of three theoretical level of analysis. Which are psychiatric
30
or psycho-pathological analysis, socio-psychological analysis and sociological or

socio-cultural analysis. The psycho-pathological model focuses on the personality

characteristics of offenders and victims as chief determinants of criminal violence.

This model includes analysis that links mental illness, alcohol and other intra

individual phenomenon to acts of violence. So, according to this theory causes of

violence against women arise from the offender’s psychological problem like

depression, impulsiveness and uncontrolled emotions. This theory also urges that

violence against women arises out of psychological problems of victims. This

theory defines the characteristics of perpetrators as weak pathologically jealous

men with low self-esteem and experiencing insecurity about their masculinity.

Socio-psychological theories examines the types of everyday interactions, stressful

situations or family interactional patterns which lead to violence. Whenever there

is failure to achieve certain goal or end, frustrated perpetrator and his frustration

turn into aggression. According to this theory, aggression is always directed

towards the source of frustration.

Frustration-Aggression Theory: This theory is stated by Dollard in 1939 to

explain how frustration is linked to aggression. Whenever there is failure to

achieve certain goal or end, perpetrator is frustrated and frustration turns into

aggression. According to this theory, aggression is always directed towards the

source of frustration.

31
Perversion Theory: According to Freud’s early theory in 1949, perversion means

essentially the persistence in the adult of infantile behavior instead of adult

behavior. Infantile traits fail to undergo the normal process of integration during

puberty but are not converted into neurotic symptoms. Violence can be the product

of strong inborn derives or of pathological experiences in infancy or early

childhood.

Self-Attitude Theory: This theory maintains that in a society culture or group that

value violence, persons of low self-esteem performs the act of violence to maintain

their images in the eyes of others and themselves too.

Motive Attribution Theory: This theory specifies the process used by actors to

impute the motivations (dispositional state) of others. It explains how the structure

of relations is such that there is a high probability of male violent intent being

attributed to the actions of other individuals thereby setting in motion an escalating

cycle of resentment and aggression.

The Cycle Theory of Violence and Psycho-Social Theory of Learned

Helplessness: Both of the theories are developed by Lenore Walker’s. The cycle

theory defines three distinct cycle or phase of violence like tension building stage,

the acute battering incident and kindness/living behavior. According to this theory

in first stage when minor battering occur the women adapts, rationalizes and

32
externalizes the problem. In second phase actual battering physically, emotionally

and psychologically starts, whereas third phase includes love, affection, and

promises by the husband never to repeat the incidents again. This phenomenon

keeps on repeating in all battered women. The psycho-socio theory of learned

helplessness focuses on the factors which reinforce battered women’s

victimizations. According to this theory, the helplessness of battered women

compels them to accept the exploitative situations.

Structural Theory: This theory is developed to represent those social groups,

which have typical levels of stress, deprivation and frustration and the sources of

their disposal. According to this theory, individuals who have high stress with low

resources would be more aggressive. The main cause of stress is being regarded as

economic conditions, bad housing, poverty, lack of job opportunities and

unfavorable and frustrating work conditions.

System Tension and Feedback System Theory: This theory is developed by

Straus in 1973 to explain intra-family violence. According to this theory, violence

is precipitated by factors such as stress and inter-individual conflict and is followed

by consequences which maintain violence in family and in society.

Anomie Theory: This theory is developed by Robert Merton in 1938. According

to this theory, some social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons

33
in the society to engage in non-conformist rather than conformist conduct. When

there is a tendency to overemphasize the goals without sufficient attention to

institutional means, it leads to a willingness to use any means to achieve the goal,

regardless of their legality. The theory delineates the relationship between one’s

social position, the strain which accompanies that position and the resulting

deviant and non-deviant adaptations.

Theory of Subcultures of Violence: This theory explains the life circumstances of

certain groups which compel them to commit violence. In fact, violence is hidden

in the values and norms of such people. The group living in such conditions

quickly use force in interpersonal relations. Those people are basically the

members of slum areas, living a disorganized family life in absolute poverty,

suspicion of other difficulty from police and fellow citizen etc. Therefore, this

theory suggests that the situations of those people compel them to commit the act

of violence.

Resource Theory: This theory is developed by Goode in 1971, as the first

theoretical approach to apply family violence. Goode states that all social systems

react to some degree of force or threat of violence, is used as a last resort when all

the resources are exhausted to maintain or advance their interests. By applying this

set of assumption to the family Goode explain that a husband who wants to be the

34
dominant family member but had little education, job prestige or income and lacks

interpersonal skills may be likely to resort to violence to be the dominant persons.

Patriarchy Theory: This theory developed by Dobash and Dobash in 1979,

maintains that throughout the history violence has been systematically directed

towards women. Economic and social process operate directly and indirectly to

support a patriarchal social order, and family structure. According to this theory,

patriarchy leads to the subordination of women, supports a systematic violence

against wives.

Social Learning Theory: This theory which is developed by Albert Bandura

asserts that human aggression and violence are learned conduct through direct

experience by observing the behaviors of others and through imitation. Individual

pick up such behavioral pattern, and act like the same. Therefore, Steele and

Pollock (1974) and Bennie and Clare (1969) have maintained that abusive male

adults are likely to have been raised in abusive homes. Being abused or ill treated

as a child produces a personality disorder which socializes an individual a life

pattern of violence and aggression.

Conflict and Control Theories: Scholars like Foucault (1975), Thompson (1977)

and Rothman (1980) have presented a domination model of deviance. They

highlighted the rules imposed on the powerless by the powerful. Radical and

35
conflict sociologists like Quinnery (1977), have argued that this attitude is to

protect the interests of the dominant classes and to prevent them from pursuing

their interests to monopolize it by the powerful. Similarly imposing various

restrictions on women and compelling them to remain dependent on men

economically, socially and emotionally is to make them realize that they are weak,

powerless and others in all respect stand as an example of this argument.

Exchange Theory: This theory integrates the key elements of the diverse theories

of human violence. This theory explains the growth of resentment, anger, hostility

and violence when the principle of distributive justice is violated while applying

the principle of exchange theory to explain violence in family (wife-beating, dowry

death, and rape by a family member). Goode suggests that force is used more by

those in the poorer classes partly because they have less alternative resources and

partly because their socialization experiences lead them to depend more on force.

Interactionist Deviance Theory: This theory exemplified by theorists such as

Erikson (1964), Becker (1963), Chuer (1971) and Lemert (1978) explains family

violence in terms of sex role or gender norms, i.e. differential expectation for

values, attitudes and behaviors as a function of one’s gender. According to this

prevalent sex role norms, a husband expects a good wife to run the household

smoothly, ensure children’s well-mannered behavior, avoid assertiveness and

36
remain submissive to elders in the family. When women do not behave like male’s

ideal of wife, husbands use violence against them to make them conform to norms.

Multi-Factor Theory
This theory concentrates on the sociological analysis of social structural

conditions. According to this theory, the important conditions which lead married

people to victimization in domestic violence are status, frustrations, life stresses,

career crisis and structural opportunities. Therefore, the partner who assaults their

spouse physically or mentally is often the partner who either feels at a

disadvantage with their spouse or who feels at an advantageous position in

demanding a specific thing from their spouse (Sunitha, 2016). He further maintains

that violence is used by married people who are either frustrated or develop a

superiority ego due to lack of adjustment, attachment and commitment under

specific circumstances.

Theory of Gender

Gendered Resource Theory

Understanding the predictors of domestic violence is the longstanding goals of

macro social research. This stream of research has several key components.

According to Syazliana et al. (2018), there are three general versions of theories on

how resources affect the prevalence of domestic violence between married people.

Two social structural views generally used to describe domestic violence between

37
married people are resource theory and relative resource theory. The level of

resources has been identified as the primary predictor of domestic violence

between married people. According to these authors, resource theory refers to

married men who have few resources to offer while for relative resource theory

refers to those married men who have fewer resources than their wives (Syazliana

et al., 2018).

Specifically, both theories reflect the possession of resources as the primary

predictor of domestic violence between married people, which is typically

operationalized as education, earnings, or employment. The perpetrators use

violence to gain obedience and compliance in the absence of resources as they

view it as a power base, as an alternative to material resources (Gracia & Merlo,

2016).

Resource theory has been refined to maximize the prediction that husbands’ gender

ideologies are critical, where the degree to which men hold breadwinner ideals is

important. Gender ideologies are how one identifies oneself with regard to marital

status which range from traditional (viewed by the belief that husbands should be

primary breadwinners and wives should remain at home) to egalitarian (viewed by

the belief that women’s share in total household income is crucial). Thus, gender

ideology acts as a lens whereby married people view their social world and make

decisions (Syazliana et al., 2018). In keeping with these views, Syazliana et al.
38
(2018), who observed the husband’s gender ideology and its relationship with

women’s share of household earnings, found that the women’s share in total

household earnings is positively related to risk of domestic violence only when

husband is traditional. From the view of gendered resource theory, women who are

primary breadwinners and who have traditional husbands are at the highest risk of

domestic violence (Gracia & Merlo, 2016).

On top of that, gendered resource theory has been widely applied to study how

economic related to gender roles increase married people risk for domestic

violence. Naved (2013) investigated the magnitude and nature of domestic

violence between married people. He found that women with fewer resources

become economically dependent on their partners, which in turn limits their

negotiating power and their ability to diminish physical violence. This argument

showed that the relationship between resources and violence need not be linear as

increased resources could also lead to more domestic violence between married

people (Naved, 2013). This statement is in line with the study of Cools and

Kotsadam (2017), who found that women’s empowerment does not guarantee

reduction in the risk of domestic violence between married people.

Theoretical Framework
Several theories could be used to investigate the influence of domestic violence

and gender on mental health among married people. Some of the theories are social

39
representations theory, socio cultural perspectives, multi-factor theory and

gendered resource theory. Each of these theories provides a persuasive explanation

on domestic violence and gender influence on mental health among married

people. Out of all these, the research study adopts social representations theory as

the most appropriate theoretical framework, since it focus more on addressing

mental health of married people.

Social representations theory is a deliberate attempt to develop a social

psychological theory of common sense understanding (Cooke, 2014). In several

places, Cooke (2014) makes clear his desire to rehabilitate common sense thinking,

reclaiming the concept from the ways in which it has been denigrated and

dismissed over time. In his conceptualization, and indeed in the work of others

who have developed these ideas, we see the psychology of a thinking society and

of the cognitive prodigal and not of the individualized cognitive miser always keen

to take the short cut in their judgments and thinking. We see a social psychology

that challenges notions of a hierarchy of knowledge, with scientific understanding

superior to common sense and instead takes seriously the differing contexts of the

two modes of thinking instead of comparing one with the other (Cooke, 2014). The

social, historical, political and cultural context of the production and maintenance

of knowledge and of communication is paramount.

40
There is, then, a potential tension when we consider attempts to change

understanding from this perspective (Moncrieff, 2013). Suggesting that change in

understanding necessarily involves making a judgment that existing knowledge is

problematic in some way. However, not to acknowledge that people can, and do,

hold understandings that can be harmful either to themselves or others would also

be naive, and hugely problematic. Accepting existing understanding as the status

quo also fails to enable the actualization of the more transformative aspects of

social representations theory, as evidenced in numerous studies (Jovchelovitch &

Priego-Hernández, 2013). Part of the problem in this case is the character of

understandings about mental health issues. There is reasonable consensus that the

widely reported negative attitudes towards mental health issues amongst married

people, seemingly so historically tenacious, are problematic in that they encourage

discrimination against married people labeled mentally ill and discourage them

from seeking help when they find themselves in distress due to experience of

domestic violence (Rubinstein & Foster, 2013). There is perhaps less consensus

about what these attitudes and understandings might be changed to.

In light of the above definition and discussion of mental health literacy, it is

instructive to consider the perspective of mental health campaigns more

specifically on this issue in more depth (Cooke, 2014). Many campaigns start from

one of these two premises:

41
 i. Married people lack any understanding about mental health issues, or they

hold understandings that are incomplete. Mental health campaigns must

therefore seek to fill the gaps, providing married people with understanding

that they would otherwise lack.

ii. Married people hold well-developed understandings about mental health

issues that are incorrect. Mental health campaigns must therefore seek to

correct these faulty understandings.

These starting points are usually similar for other health campaigns. To some

extent, any approach along these lines rests upon the idea that scientific

understanding is correct, and superior to any understandings that might be in

circulation (Cooke, 2014). Taking a social representations approach does call for

us to take into consideration the context and change in the production of any

knowledge, whether in the consensual or the reified domain (Moncrieff, 2013).

Empirical Review
Diksha et al. (2016) estimated the magnitude of different forms of domestic

violence and identify its associated factors, and also relate it to mental health.

Community based cross sectional study was conducted among 355 married people

of Kusheshwor, Sindhuli, Nepal. The questionnaire adapted from the World Health

Organization Multi-Country Study was used for the face to face interviews.

Occurrence of current domestic violence was used as outcome variable in logistic

42
regression. Descriptive and multivariate analysis were performed in order to assess

the magnitude of domestic violence and to identify its associated factors

respectively in order to relate it to mental health. Self-reported lifetime prevalence

of physical violence was 29.6% and past year prevalence was 15.2%, while

corresponding figures for sexual violence were 6.8% and 2.3%, and for

psychological violence were 31.0% and 18.3%. Lifetime domestic violence was

38.6%, while prevalence was 23.1%. Furthermore, 12.4% of married people were

experiencing all forms of violence concurrently. Differentials power in relationship

and poor mental health was found to be positively associated with violent episodes.

Their study highlighted the infringement of women rights which can be the cause

for serious public health consequences.

Nidharshana and Kavitha (2016) tried to focus on impact of domestic violence and

gender on mental health among married people. Descriptive research design was

used and purposive sampling method was used to collect information. Under this

method 100 respondents were selected by the researcher and among them 50

respondents those who are experiencing domestic violence and the remaining 50

respondents, those who are not having the same problem were selected deliberately

to constitute the sample of their study. It was revealed that married people who do

not undergo domestic violence perceive better mental health and those who are

experiencing domestic violence have poor mental health.

43
Ronald et al. (2020) investigated domestic violence as predictors of mental health

among married people. Their study comprised a sample of 750 married people

within age range of 19-45 years. An estimated 66.8% of the volunteer participants

were Christians, while 33.2% were Muslims. The sampled couples completed the

domestic violence and mental health scales. Results following regression analysis

showed that domestic violence predicted mental health among married people.

Suggesting that there are certain issues or factors among married people that

induce domestic violence such as workload, level of education, level of income,

parenting style, unemployment, poor social support, negative life styles among

others.

Summary of Related Literature Review

This section is systematically organized to contain three sections which is the

Conceptual review of the study, the Theoretical review section and the Empirical

review section.

Concepts discussed under the conceptual review comprise of concept of mental

health, mental health education, concept of domestic violence, forms of domestic

violence and concept of gender. Theories discussed under the theoretical review

comprise of social representations theory, socio cultural perspectives, multi-factor

theory and gendered resource theory.

44
That being said, empirical review in this study includes the study of Diksha et al.

(2016); Nidharshana and Kavitha (2016) and Ronald et al. (2020).

Hypotheses
1. Domestic violence will not have a significant effect on mental health among

married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

2. Gender will not have a significant effect on mental health among married

people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

45
 CHAPTER THREE

METHOD

Participants
The participants for this study were drawn from the population of workers in

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The study lasted for some months after the

clearance and approval. 150 copies of questionnaires containing all the scales were

distributed to the workers in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka to fill. The copies

were returned back and used for data analysis.

The participants were 68 males (45.3%) while 82 were females (54.7%) with mean

age of 35, and standard deviation of 21.21

Instruments
The questionnaire was the major instrument employed in this study. Three

instruments were used for data collection. They are:

i. Domestic Violence Questionnaire by Abolmaali, Saberi and Saber (2014) to

measure domestic violence.

ii. Gender under the demographic profile was used to get the percentage of

male and female to measure gender.

iii. Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ)-20 developed by World Health

Organization to measure mental health.

46
Reliability: Reliability is about yielding the same or compatible results in different

clinical experiments or statistical trials (Creswell, 2012). The reliability of the

structured questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient by Lee

Cronbach in 1951. It measures the internal consistency of questionnaire items

which will be expressed as a number between 0 and 1, ensuring that they reliably

capture the intended constructs.

Validity: Validity refers to how well a scientific test or piece of research actually

measures what it sets out to, or how well it reflects the reality it claims to represent

(Creswell, 2012). Like reliability, validity in this sense is a concept drawn from the

positivist scientific tradition and needs specific interpretation and usage in the

context of qualitative research. Content validity will be maintained by re-

examining the questions to ensure the needed data are captured. The research

experts will evaluate all aspects such that the instruments focus on the required

information. Construct validity ensure that the instruments obtain the anticipated

view, attitudes and perceptions on the subject under research. Validity of

questionnaire will be ensured by the expert judgment of university lecturers of

Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Finally, the items in the questionnaire will be

arranged from the simple to the most complex.

47
Procedure
The researcher met married people who are workers in Nnamdi Azikiwe

University and will introduce herself to them. After the introduction and with their

affirmation of interest, the researcher sampled each of the group using simple

random sampling techniques. This is a sampling techniques that allows everybody

equal chance to participate in the study. These sample population were met at their

various departments and copies of the questionnaire were administered to them

there. The researcher was careful so as not to administer same copy of

questionnaire to the same set of workers by asking if one had responded to the

questionnaire before in places or doubt. The copies were returned back and the

results will be used for data analysis.

Design and Statistics

The data collected was analyzed using the descriptive statistics and regression

analysis. This method was used to test the research hypotheses. The researcher

employed descriptive statistics and regression analysis because she tested the effect

of two independent variables i.e. domestic violence and gender (male and female)

on one dependent variable (mental health) among married people in Nnamdi

Azikiwe University, Awka.

48
 CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

This chapter covers the results and findings of data important to investigate the

influence of domestic violence and gender on mental health among married people

in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. It also covers the interpretation of the data

and the discussion of findings.

Data Analysis
Table 4.1: Descriptive Statistics
Summary of the table for mean and standard deviation for variables studied.

Mean Std. Deviation Number

Mental Health 3.133333 1.038233 150

Domestic Violence 3.230667 1.030081 150

Gender 1.546667 0.499485 150

Source: Researcher’s Computation, 2024.

Table 4.1 above shows that mental health recorded the mean of 3.133333 and

standard deviation of 1.038233. Domestic violence recorded the mean of 3.230667

and standard deviation of 1.030081. Gender recorded the mean of 1.546667 and

standard deviation of 0.499485. This result shows that there is no significant mean

difference across the variables.

49
Table 4.2: Coefficients
Summary of table of regression analysis on the influence of domestic violence and

gender on mental health among married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University,

Awka.

Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistics Prob.

Domestic Violence 0.859672 0.043813 19.62136 0.0000

Gender 0.093600 0.090355 1.035908 0.3019

Coefficients 0.211252 0.211012 1.001140 0.3184

Source: Researcher’s Computation, 2024.

Test of Hypotheses
1. Domestic violence will not have a significant effect on mental health among

married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

From Table 4.2, the coefficient of domestic violence is 0.859672, which means

that domestic violence has positive relationship with mental health. The t-value is

19.62136 with probability value of 0.0000. Since the probability value is less than

0.05, we reject the hypothesis and conclude that domestic violence will

significantly have an effect on mental health among married people in Nnamdi

Azikiwe University, Awka.

2. Gender will not have a significant effect on mental health among married

people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

50
From Table 4.2, the coefficient of gender is 0.093600, which means that gender

has positive relationship with mental health. The t-value is 1.035908 with

probability value of 0.3019. Since the probability value is greater than 0.05, we

accept the hypothesis and conclude that gender will not significantly have an effect

on mental health among married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Findings
Findings revealed that domestic violence have a significant effect on mental health

among married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. This implies that

domestic violence between married people definitely affect their mental health and

might lead to mental illness if not properly addressed. The second finding revealed

that gender does not have a significant effect on mental health among married

people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. This implies that mental health

issues does not relate to just a specific gender, instead both gender in a marriage

can have mental health challenges.

51
 CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The chapter comprises of summary of all findings derived and analyzed by the

researcher, and in addition, a conclusion based on these findings and

recommendations to community leaders and non-governmental organizations on

the influence of domestic violence and gender on mental health among married

people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Summary of Findings
This section contains a summary of the study’s findings from chapter four, which

is based on the investigation of the influence of domestic violence and gender on

mental health among married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. As a

result, it is more convenient to summarize these findings as follows:

i. Domestic violence have a significant effect on mental health among married

people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

ii. Gender does not have a significant effect on mental health among married

people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Conclusion
The empirical investigation on the influence of domestic violence and gender on

mental health among married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka was

52
examined with the application of descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The

regression analysis shows that domestic violence has a significant effect on mental

health among married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. While gender

does not have a significant effect on mental health among married people in

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Implication of the Study

The conceptual and theoretical model of this study helped the researcher observe

the effect of the independent variables (domestic violence and gender) on the

dependent variable (mental health). Data analyzed and interpreted confirmed that

domestic violence have a significant effect on mental health among married people

in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. While, gender does not have a significant

effect on mental health among married people in Nnamdi Azikiwe University,

Awka. This implies that domestic violence between married people definitely

affect their mental health and might lead to mental illness if not properly

addressed. This further implies that mental health issues does not relate to just a

specific gender, instead both gender in a marriage can have mental health

challenges.

Limitations of the Study

The most important study limitation was the fact that variables were measured

through self-reports. This study consisted of participants responding to a single

53
survey to assess multiple constructs consisting of multiple dimensions. Using self-

ratings for both independent and dependent variables is often discouraged because

of concerns regarding common method bias, or, the belief that research methods

used contribute some variance to the relationships being tested.

The second limitation is the selection of the sample. The questionnaire was only

shared to workers in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, the data was limited to

this sample. The generalizability of sampling is the limitation of this study. Results

may differ for workers in other universities or organizations.

Recommendations
Based on the empirical findings of the study, the following recommendations were

made:

Awareness programs regarding where and to whom to seek for help in case of

domestic violence need to be conducted. Formal and informal educational program

need to be conducted regarding the act against domestic violence.

Community leaders and non-governmental organizations should support domestic

violence counselling programs and enhance programs that address discrimination

between married people and try to stop domestic violence from happening in the

first place.

54
Social norms should be strict to give punishment for such people who break the

rules, norms and who take up this inhuman activity called domestic violence.

Health care professionals like counsellor, psychologist, psychiatrist and social

worker should be active and available to identify the problems that cause domestic

violence as early as possible.

More emphasis needs to be placed in combating domestic violence from pre phase,

during and post phase of domestic violence situation. Workplace, government and

legislative interventions together with great initiatives from communities

especially non-governmental organizations are expected to work together to

combat domestic violence.

Suggestions for Further Studies

There is need for further exploration of the mediating and moderating roles of

variables (which were not explored in this study) that could influence mental

health among married people.

Considering the fact that this study is limited to only workers in Nnamdi Azikiwe

University, Awka. There is a need for future studies to be conducted on other

universities and organizations.

55
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57
 APPENDIX

Descriptive Statistics

MH DV G
Mean 3.133333 3.230667 1.546667
Median 2.916667 3.000000 2.000000
Maximum 5.000000 5.000000 2.000000
Minimum 1.000000 1.000000 1.000000
Std. Dev. 1.038233 1.030081 0.499485
Skewness 0.375108 0.177706 -0.187485
Kurtosis 2.330764 2.330352 1.035151

Jarque-Bera 6.316870 3.592160 25.00772

Probability 0.042492 0.165948 0.000004

Sum 470.0000 484.6000 232.0000

Sum Sq. Dev. 160.6111 158.0989 37.17333

Observations 150 150 150

Coefficients

Dependent Variable: MH
Method: Least Squares
Date: 04/23/24 Time: 15:21
Sample: 1 150
Included observations: 150
Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob.
DV 0.859672 0.043813 19.62136 0.0000
G 0.093600 0.090355 1.035908 0.3019
C 0.211252 0.211012 1.001140 0.3184
R-squared 0.723778 Mean dependent var 3.133333
Adjusted R-squared 0.720020 S.D. dependent var 1.038233

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S.E. of regression 0.549361 Akaike info criterion 1.659677
Sum squared resid 44.36431 Schwarz criterion 1.719890
Log likelihood -121.4758 Hannan-Quinn criter. 1.684140
F-statistic 192.5904 Durbin-Watson stat 1.884528
Prob(F-statistic) 0.000000

QUESTIONNAIRE

Instruction: Please answer each item as accurately as you can and honestly tick √

the response number that suite you.

1 = Strongly agree

2 = Agree

3 = Neutral

4 = Disagree

5 = Strongly disagree

SECTION A

Demographic Characteristics

i. Gender: a. Male ( ) b. Female ( )

ii. Age range: a. 20–30 ( ) b. 31–40 ( ) c. 41–50 ( ) d. 51 and above

( )

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 iii. Educational qualification: a. Secondary School ( ) b. O Level ( ) c.

Bachelor Degree ( ) d. Master Degree ( )

SECTION B

Domestic Violence

S/NO Items 1 2 3 4 5
1 My partner makes me feel humiliated.
2 My partner shouts at me and says I am a fool.
3 My partner gets angry at every situation.
4 My partner insults me using bad language.
5 My partner does not care about my interests.
6 My partner does not respect my feelings.
7 My partner does not respect me near others.
8 My partner pushes me when he is angry.
9 My partner threatens me with divorce.
10 I tolerate my partner just for my shame.
11 My partner kicks me.
12 My partner forces me to do unfavorable things.
13 My partner controls my behavior and actions.
14 My partner stops me from going out independently.
15 My partner gets angry when it is time for sex.
16 My partner controls my text messages.
17 My partner is curious about my calls.
18 My partner puts me under pressure to make a lot of money.
19 My partner material requests are not adapted to mine.
20 I cannot spend my money without my partner permission.

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 Mental Health

S/NO Items 1 2 3 4 5
1 I feel unhappy.
2 I feel nervous, tense or worried most times.
3 I have lost interest in a lot of things.
4 I cry more than usual.
5 The thought of ending my life have been in my mind.
6 I have trouble thinking clearly.
7 I find it difficult to enjoy my daily activities.
8 I find it difficult to make decisions.
9 I get easily tired.
10 I feel tired all the time.
11 I find it difficult to enjoy my daily activities.
12 I feel I am a worthless person.

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