Abstract

This study investigated socio-economic status and personality type as correlates of spouse abuse behaviour in Rivers State. The purpose of the study was to determine the degree and nature of association among Socio-Economic Status, gender and religion, as well as predict spouse behaviour. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were examined in the study. The correlational design was adopted in the study. Data collected from 500 subjects with the aid of a 43-item spouse abuse behaviour questionnaire were analyzed with multiple regression and path analytic models. It was found that there was no significant correlation among socio-economic status, personality type and spouse abuse behaviour. The moderating impact of the secondary independent variables, gender, religion, were not significantly correlated among socio-economic status, personality type and spouse behaviour in the study respectively. On the basis of these findings, counsellors and psychologists should not rely on the level of socio-economic status and personality type to predict the spouse abuse behaviour since socio-economic status and personality type did not correlate significantly with spouse abuse behaviour. Counsellors, teachers and psychologists should not rely on the basis of religion and gender to predict spouse abuse behaviour since they did not significantly moderate the correlation among socio-economic status, personality type and spouse abuse behaviour. Since this study has actually established that socio-economic status, personality type, gender and region were not significantly predictors of spouse abuse behaviour among couples in Rivers state, it was recommended that the State Government should without further delay come up with a policy statements under the urgent need for the introduction of premarital education and counseling programme in the state school in order to facilitate preventive counseling against spouse abuse behaviour. It was also recommended that marriage seminars and workshops which could help minimize disunity in families should be organized and couples of various level should be encouraged to attend.

Key words:  Socio-economic status, personality type, gender and religion, spouse behaviour.