Love Attitudes and Marital Adjustment Through Five Stages of the Marital Life-Cycle in Protestant Nigerian Society

• Main Author: Acho, Onyebuchi S. (Onyebuchi Sunday)
• Other Authors: Wilborn, Bobbie L.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of North Texas 1988
• Subjects: Protestantism; Nigerian Protestantism; marriage; love; Marriage > Nigeria > Psychological aspects.; Love.; Married people > Nigeria > Attitudes.
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331089/

This study examined the relationship between love attitude and marital adjustment across five stages of the marital life-cycle in Nigerian society. The subjects for this study were 202 volunteers from six protestant churches representing six cities in the southern part of Nigeria. An average of 20 couples were representatives of each of the five marital life-cycles. Each of the subjects completed the Love Attitude Inventory (LAI), and the Marital Adjustment Test (short form) (MAT). Wilk's multivariate analysis revealed no significant differences between husbands' and wives' love attitude and marital adjustment across the five stages of the marital life cycle. Multivariate analysis split-plot 5.2 with repeated measures revealed no significant difference for the total sample among the groups, but indicated a significant difference between love attitude and marital adjustment for the total sample using sex as a factor. A univariate test of the MAT and LAI indicated that the MAT accounted for the difference. A canonical correlation indicated a significant positive relationship between husbands1 and wives' marital adjustment and love attitude within each of the five groups. The findings suggest that husbands and wives included in this study have a good understanding of their roles in the marriage relationship and that the partners have general agreement regarding those roles. The marriage partners apparently have strong influences on each other's perceptions of love attitude and marital adjustment.