Levels of Marital Satisfaction of Protestant Clergy and Their Spouses in Dagoretti South Sub-County Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the levels of marital satisfaction among protestant clergy in Dagoretti South Sub-County
 Methodology: This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed method design. The study used a sample size of 273 protestant clergy and their spouses, chosen using a simple random sampling technique for quantitative, and 12 participants who were purposefully selected for qualitative, low and high performance on levels of marital satisfaction. The ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMSS) and the Scales of Perceived Social Support were used to collect quantitative data, with the former having a reliability coefficient of 0.834 and the latter of 0.954, respectively. The researcher used both standardized questionnaires and an in-depth interview guide questionnaire to obtain data. Descriptive analysis and thematic analysis were used to examine the data. The data was presented in form of tables. SPSS version 23 for the social sciences was for inferential analysis.
 Findings: The results of this study show that most protestant clergy and their spouses have optimistic views and feelings about their relationships. However, marital contentment is a multifaceted and intricate phenomenon. This is due to the fact that stress is present in every marriage and that clergy and their wives face additional stresses from ministry work. According to the results, a moderate level of marital happiness was reported by 47.6% of the protestant clergy and their spouses in Dagoretti South Sub- County, Nairobi County, Kenya.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study was anchored on the dynamic goal theory of marital satisfaction. The study also recommends that the policymaker’s plan and strategize to engage counselling psychologists with the intent to deal with specific issues that married couples present. It is high time for the government to stop being reactive to issues pertaining marital and family and engage the mental health professionals on the best prevention intervention for marriage and family in general.