ENHANCING STRESS MANAGEMENT AMONG SPOUSES IN KATSINA STATE NIGERIA

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Abstract

The major purpose of the study was to identify strategies for enhancing stress management among  spouses  in  Katsina  State,  Nigeria.  Eight  research  questions  and  eight  null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and was carried out in Katsina State, Nigeria. The population of this study was made up of the entire

986,453 spouses in Katsina State. Purposive and multistage sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 900 respondents made up of 450 husbands and 450 wives. Two sets of instruments were used for data collection for the study. These include the Focus Group Discussion Guide (FGD) and structured questionnaire titled: “Spousal Stress Management Strategies Questionnaire (SSMSQ). The questionnaire was face-validated by five experts. Internal consistency of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha reliability method and reliability coefficient of 0.78 was obtained. Six trained research assistants were involved in data collection. Out of the 900 copies of questionnaire administered, 846 copies were properly completed and returned representing 94% return rate. Mean was used for answering the research questions while t-test statistics was used in testing the eight null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The focus group discussion was summarized and organized based on the purposes of the study. The major findings of the study include: causes of stress among spouses in Katsina State with major causes as spouses related intimacy, children; economic/finance related causes among others, appropriate physical stress management strategies include: regular body exercises with spouse, control body weight and relaxation techniques among others psychological stress management strategies include: building faith in God, listening to music and being optimistic among others, social supports stress management strategies include: owning a pet, counseling by social workers and  prayers  among  others;  environment related  stress  management strategies  include: avoiding noisy environment in both official and residential houses and ensuring clean and safe environment among others; time management strategies for controlling stress include: setting priorities, applying work simplification techniques and planning time use by scheduling among others. Problems that can hinder the adoption of stress management strategies by spouses include: wide age differences, uncompromising attitudes of spouses and large family size among others and the ways through which spouses could be helped to adopt stress management strategies include: developing and using good listening skills, showing appreciation to each other and adopting positive attitude towards stressful events among others. On the hypotheses tested, the study found out that there are no significant differences in the mean ratings of the responses of husbands and wives on 171 out of the

217 items in the study while on the remaining 46 items, there are significant differences. Based  on  these  findings,  the  study  recommended  among  others,  regular  awareness campaign about causes of stress among spouses in the State; there should be government and NGOs organized sponsored drama to enlighten spouses on the dangers of unhealthy stress management adopted by spouses and their negative consequences on the individual, family and society in general.

Background of the Study

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Family is the basic social unit of the society. It is made up of a group of people that reside together and are related by blood or adoption. According to Anyakoha and Eluwa  (2010),  family  is  a  group  of  persons  united  by  ties  of  marriage  or  blood (ancestry) and having one or more children of their own or adopted and often times characterized by common residence and economic cooperation.  The universality of the family is not in a uniform pattern because it varies in types. Ibia (2006), categorized family   into   monogamous   and   polygamous   family.   According   to   the   author, monogamous family is a family pattern that is made up of a husband, a wife and their children while polygamous family consists of one man and more than one wife. The man may or may not live under the same roof with the wives and exercises control over them and the entire household. There is also the extended family which consists of the couple, their children, grand parents, siblings, uncles, aunties, nieces, nephews, etc (Groiler, 2006).

Irrespective of the type, families constitute the corner stone of the society and key institution that provides customs, strategies, relationships and behavioural patterns in   societies   (McGregor,   2009).   The   family   according   to   McGregor   performs multifaceted roles in the society. These include: Emotional care and physical maintenance of group members and relative, addition of new members through procreation or adoption as well as fostering, socialization and education of children into adult roles and responsibilities, social control of members by setting boundaries, disciplining, mentoring and protection of family members against all forms of violence, production, consumption, exchange and distribution of goods and services and maintenance of family morale and motivation to ensure task performance both within the family and in other groups (McGregor, 2009).

The roles played by the family in societal development is championed by the

spouses who constitute the heads of families. Spouses are two adults male and female

1

that are legally married and maintain a socially approved sexual relationship (Ikulayo,

1999). They are husband and wife who are joined together religiously or by law and tradition. Husband and wife (spouse) normally work together to meet the needs of the family and carry out various functions to continuously meet the needs of the members. In their efforts to meet these needs, spouses are often confronted with various forms of challenges that make enormous demands on them. In the process of responding to the demands, spouses experience various forms  of  pressures, frustrations, tensions and anxieties which give rise to stress.

Stress refers to a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with opportunity, constraint or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is  perceived to  be  both  uncertain  and  important (Robbins,1999). It  is  an aversive state of arousal triggered by the perception that an event threatens an individual’s ability to cope effectively (Saul, 2004). Stress is a physical or psychological stimulus that can produce mental tension or physiological reactions that may lead to illness (Melin and Birch, 2005). The attempt by spouses to continuously meet the demand of family members and carry out their daily activities result to stress.

Stress, according to Ezeilo (2005) could lead to family disintegration, separation or divorce, breakdown in productivity, sub-standard school performance of children, tense emotional atmosphere, mistrust, doubt, fear, sense of isolation, less feeling of closeness, sharing, intimacy, affection and impaired communication. These situations threaten family cohesion and children’s delinquent behaviour (temper tantrum, stubbornness). Stress can cause a significant state of disequilibrium and disorganization which can lead to a discontinuity in the family’s trajectory of functions. According to Nayak (2008), stress occurs when the challenges of the spouses exceed their adjustive capacity  or  resources.    Stimuli  or  situations that  cause  stress  are  called  stressors. Stressors are life events impacting on spouses which produce or has the potential of producing change, events or conditions in the environment which in turn challenge or threaten the family (Dennis, 2004). There are three major causes or sources of stress which are the environment, individual, and the family climate (Nayak, 2008).

Environmental causes of stress according to the author relate to the factors and conditions in the environment such as societal or technological changes, political and economic uncertainties, financial condition, community conditions, noise, weather, heavy traffic, among others.  In affirmation, Obi and Obi (2007) stated that a high level background noise can severely impair spouses’ ability to concentrate, cause irritability, tension  and  headaches  and  consequently  result  to  environmental-induced  stress.

Factors relating to the individuals or the spouses themselves, include changes in the life and career of spouses, their personality types and role characteristics among others (Nwajei, 2009). In this regards, the author stated that any change in career life of either the husband or wife puts him/her in a state of disequilibrium that may result in stress. Personality type such as authoritarianism, rigidity, masculinity, feminity, extroversion,  spontaneity,  locus  of  control  are  particularly  relevant  to  individual’s stress.   Spouses belonging to members of several associations like family, voluntary, work, professional bodies and so on are expected to fulfill certain obligations in each system. These various roles may have conflicting demands and spouses may experience role stress, caused by these multiple demands and conflicting expectations in the family (Oboegbulem, 2001).

The climate that persists in the family can be a potential source of stress. For instance, the extent of partners’ involvement in the management of family finances, decision making process, sense of belonging, free and fair communication, sympathetic approach towards spousal personal problems, conflicts and frustrations in affectional and sexual gratifications may constitute source of stress (Sonye and Minaseichinbo,

2011).

The effects of unmanaged stress situations according to Koshiba and Helgerson (1999) include high blood pressure, aches and pains, internal heat, palpitation, poor memory, sleeplessness (insomania), poor appetite, lack of concentration, depression, fear, anxiety, anger, hostility and bad dreams. Sharing similar views, Azubuike (2005) and Maisamari (2002), submitted that the consequences of stress could be manifested in unhealthy  physiological,  psychological  and  behavioural  change.  Psychological  or mental  stress  may  be  accompanied  by  anger,  anxiety,  depression,  nervousness,

irritability, tension and boredom. Maisamari stated further that physical stress can be accompanied by high blood pressure, digestive problem, ulcers and indigestion, palpitation, chest pain, skin disorder, muscle tension, headache, loss of appetite, restlessness, shutdown of menstrual cycle, impairment of fertility among male spouses and depletion of vitamins C, B and D in the body. In extreme cases, Groiler, (2006) added that unmanaged spousal stress could result to illness such as high blood pressure leading to stroke and death. The detrimental and dangerous effects of stress on spouse has necessitated the need for the adoption of healthy stress management.

Stress management are appropriate coping actions, behaviours or attitudes which spouses  exhibit  when  faced  with  certain  psychological,  physiological  and  social demands that tax their adaptive resources (Oboegbulem, 2010). It comprises various measures taken to cope with stress, so that a state of psychological and physiological equilibrium is re-established and subsequently maintained. Cooper (1995) stated that the measures for coping with or managing stress could imply either altering the situation or altering one’s perception of or adaptation to the situation. Thus, the author identified three basic ways of managing stress which include: (1) eliminating or modifying the stress producing situations; (2) removing the individual from the situation or allowing the individual to adjust to the situation personally; (3) changing the situation to fit the individual concerned and strengthening the individual’s personal resistance to stress through (a) physical exercises, (b) meditation and (c) relaxation techniques. Stress could be managed through social and personal engineering techniques, relaxation and other general techniques (Clarke, 1995). The author explained further that managing stress through the  social engineering technique include, learning to  socialize, learning to accept changes, sharing emotional feelings with others, providing comfortable place, reduction in alcohol and cigarette intake, developing positive self belief and controlling one’s  work  situation  among  others  which  constitute  healthy  stress  management strategies  that  spouses  could  adopt.  Spousal  stress  management  strategies  can  be grouped into physical, psycho-cognitive, communication, environmental and time management (Payne, Hahn and Mauer, 2005; and Insel and Roth, 2004).

The physical stress management involves meeting basic needs of good nutrition, sleep and exercise. It is more important that spouses take adequate and nutritious diet during stressful times (Payne, et al 2005). Continuing, the authors affirmed that exercise helps to maintain a healthy body and mind. People who exercise regularly react with milder physical stress responses before, during and after exposure to stressors. Adequate sleep enhances mood, fosters feelings of competence and self worth, and supports optimal mental and emotional functioning. Insel and Roth (2004) noted that extreme sleep deprivation can lead to hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms including increase in heart attack risk. Also very important in stress management is adoption of psychological stress management strategies.

The psychological stress management strategies use both cognitive self talk and deep breathing approaches. Some stressors are borne out of the  mind, which have tremendous impact upon how well stress is managed. Stress can be generated from ideas, beliefs, perceptions, faulty conclusions, misinterpretations and expectation of worst things to happen (Payne et al, 2005; Insel and Roth, 2004). Deep breathing is a relaxation response which is characterized by a feeling of warmth and quiet mental alertness which is physical and psychological. Effective communication among spouses is   also   very   helpful   in   healthy  stress   management.  Communication  as   stress management option involves a social interactions with others such as hugging and laughing.  Stress  can  be  related  to  inadequate social  interactions.  Azubuike (2005) specifically  noted  that  effective  communication has  significant  effects  in  reducing harmful effects of stress among spouses. On the other hand, satisfactory pattern of communication is also critical to the development of intimate relationship for family’s healthy wellbeing. In an effort to manage stress, Melgosa (2005) observed that spouses could also seek professional advice within their environment such as seeking assistance from guidance and counselors and religious leaders. Environmental stress management strategies involve avoidance of noisy surroundings, living in non overcrowded, clean and neat environment and giving enough time to partners. Time management in stress management is the judicious use of time in order to accomplish family tasks. Managing time  successfully is crucial to coping with  everyday stressors (Olson and  Defrain,

2005). It enables families to minimize the stress of work overload and to prioritize work and leisure time activities.

The adoption of the identified healthy spousal stress management strategies is not without some hindrances.   For instance, Nayak (2008) observed that there are factors that can hinder the adoption of healthy stress management to reduce or manage stress by spouse. These factors according to the author include; demographic factors (age differences, level of education, occupation, experiences, and family type) and organizational   factors   (work   stressors,   role   stressors,   personal   development, interpersonal relationship).   The level of education is a  key variable that can help spouses to reduce or manage stress situations. Similarly, Redmond (2009) posited that education   constitutes   an   important   factor   influencing   the   stressors   and   stress management among spouses. This is because the level of education of an individual determines his or her level of exposure, awareness and understanding of the situations happening around. Spouses with high literacy or educational level tend to use stress management techniques better than spouses with very low level of education or non- literate spouses (Sarginson, 1997). The study area consists of literate and non-literate spouses but majority being non-literate may be an impediment to adopting healthy stress management strategies among the spouses.

Unresolved stress can lead to family disorganization such as divorce and separation.   Stress   has   been   implicated   in   the   rampant   incidence   of   family disorganization in Nigeria (Adebayo and Ogunleye, 2010).  In Katsina State, spouses are faced with numerours stress related challenges of poverty, unemployment, threat of insecurity such as the Boko haram bombings and killings, gross inadequate financial resources to cater for their large family size (polygamous family), the demands of children education and upbringing among others. This situation might have led to the observed high cases of insomnia, depression, frustration and exhibition of maladaptive behaviours among spouses in  the  state  which are  signals  of  excessive  stress.  The maladaptive behaviours of excessive drinking of alcohol, smoking, nagging, withdrawal from partner and keeping late nights employed by majority of the affected spouses are poor and weak stress management.  There has been an observed alarming increase in

stress related problems among families in the State resulting often times into divorce, illness or even death of the family members.

The observed gross inadequacy in knowledge for effective stress management and  the  alarming negative  consequences on  marital  stability,  health,  cohesion  and harmony  has  necessitated  the  need  to  empirically  investigate  causes  and  evolve strategies for enhancing stress management among spouses in Katsina State.

Statement of the Problem

Spousal stress has become a common household phenomenon. In Nigeria today and Katsina State in particular. Spouses are faced with numerous stress related challenges such as the issue of Boko Haram bombings, religious crisis, insufficient financial resources to cater for family responsibilities and demands. This may also include large family size and other dependants to cater for, too many wives and children to feed, educate and cater for, poor upbringing of children which may lead to delinquent behaviours like robbery, child prostitution, cultism, gangsterism, drug addiction, sexual abuse, stealing, among others. Spousal stress has negative implications on family’s health, trajectory functions, harmony and productivity. Such negative health consequences may include chronic blood pressure which can lead to death, anxiety, depression,  sleeplessness  (insomamia),  absenteeism,  hostility,  psychosis,  aches  and pains among many others. This calls for the need to properly manage stress  so as to enhance marital wellbeing and family cohesion.

Unfortunately, spouses lack the awareness, knowledge and necessary information for effective stress management.  There also seems to be no programmes designed by government or available studies that aim at addressing the needs of spouses in the area of sustainable stress management in Katsina State.  The spouses therefore need help in this direction, hence the need for the study.

Purpose of the Study

The major purpose of this study was to evolve strategies for enhancing stress management among spouses in Katsina State. Specifically, the study sought to:

1.  identify the causes of stress among spouses in Katsina State.

2.  determine  appropriate  physical  stress  management  strategies  that  could  be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

3.  determine psycho-cognitive stress management strategies that could be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

4.  determine social support and communication stress management strategies that should be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

5.  determine  environment  related  stress  management  strategies  that  should  be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

6.  determine time management related stress management strategies that should be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

7.  identify problems that hinder the adoption of stress management strategies by spouses in Katsina State.

8.  determine ways that spouses could be helped to adopt appropriate stress coping strategies in Katsina State.

Significance of the Study

Stress is an inevitable occurrence of daily life. Although some level of stress is said to be good for the functioning of the individual, there is also the agreement that too much of it is detrimental to health and family well being. Some of the consequences of unresolved spousal stress has been linked to physical/emotional, physiological, behavioural and cognitive illnesses. They also include family disintegration, divorce, separation, breakdown in family productivity, sub-standard school performance of children among many others. Stress is a culprit in rampant cases of family disorganization in Nigeria and Katsina State in particular.

The findings of this study will be beneficial to spouses and families, Home Economics educators, Guidance and Counselors, Students, Curriculum planners, social and community health workers.

The findings of the study will be beneficial to spouses and families as it will equip them with appropriate stress management strategies that will promote healthy life styles, marital intimacy and harmony. The findings of the study if adopted will assist

families in adjusting their unhealthy life styles of excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking and substance abuse. The study will help in drastic reduction of spousal stress, increased productivity, improved healthy life style and enhancement of equilibrium in the  family  system.  This  can  be  achieved  by  organizing  public  enlightenment programmes on stress management strategies for spouses in the communities. The study will also help the government in policy formulation and implementation with family welfare and survival as its focal point.

The findings of the study will provide an empirical reference material, for Home economists, psychology and guidance and counseling educators. This will also enhance their teaching/knowledge of the causes of stress in order to proffer appropriate stress enhancement management strategies by organizing seminars, conferences and workshops for the public. The study can be packaged into teachable schemes which can be  used  by  Home  economics  educators  to  teach  students  at  all  levels  of  Nigeria education system on the prevailing causes, effects and enhancement management strategies of family stress for adoption. This can be incorporated in the teaching of Home management and family life education at post-primary education level. This will further improve the competency of Home economics educators and will also help to equip students with the appropriate knowledge in effective family stress management strategies.

Students will benefit from the findings of the study in the sense that the findings of the study will provide appropriate stress management strategies that will help them to manage or avoid stressful academic situations. This will be achieved through students orientation programmes organized by the institutions.

The findings of this study will benefit the social and community health workers in the sense that it will provide empirical information on the causes of stress and stress enhancement  management strategies  which  can  be  used  in  creating awareness  for spouses and families in order to promote healthy life styles. This will be achieved by organizing health seminars and workshop for the health workers and the entire public.

The findings of the study will also be of great benefit to curriculum planners by providing relevant information for curriculum review and update to meet societal needs

most especially in the area of family welfare and survival. The study will also provide useful resource materials to Home Economics organizations, Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, Libraries and other researchers.

Research Questions

1.  What are the causes of stress among spouses in Katsina State?

2.  What are the physical stress management strategies that could be adopted by spouses in Katsina State?

3.  What  are  the  psycho-  cognitive  stress  management  strategies  that  could  be adopted by spouses in Katsina State?

4.  What are the social support and communication stress management strategies that could be adopted by spouses in Katsina State?

5.  What are the environment related stress management strategies that should be adopted by spouses in Katsina State?

6.  What are the time management-related stress management strategies that should be  adopted by spouses in Katsina State?

7.  What are the problems that hinder the adoption of stress management strategies by spouses in Katsina State?

8.  In what ways can spouses be helped to adopt stress coping strategies in Katsina

State?

Hypotheses

The  following  null  hypotheses  were  tested  in  this  study  at  0.05  level  of significance.

H01:     There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of literate spouses on the causes of stress in Katsina state.

H02:      There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of literate spouses on the physical stress  management strategies that  should be adopted by  spouses in Katsina State.

H03:    There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of literate spouses on the psycho-cognitive stress management strategies that should be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

H04There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of literate spouses on the social supports and communication stress management strategies that should be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

H05There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of literate spouses on the environment related  stress  management strategies  that  should  be  adopted  by spouses in Katsina State.

H06:  There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of literate spouses on the time management-related stress management strategies that should be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

H07There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of literate spouses on the problems that could hinder the adoption of stress management strategies that should be adopted by spouses in Katsina State.

H08:  There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of literate spouses on the ways that spouses could be helped to adopt stress coping strategies in Katsina State.

Scope of the Study

The study only covered Katsina State and primarily focused on strategies for enhancing stress management strategies among spouses in Katsina State. The study covered causes of stress relating to spousal intimacy, children related, economic, in- laws/family and religious or cultural related causes of stress among spouses. The study also covered physical stress management strategies relating to body exercises, good rest and sleep among others. Also focused in the study is psycho-cognitive stress management strategies relating to self-talk, optimism and building faith in God among others. As part of the strategies, the study covered social supports and communication strategies relating to practice of social interaction, going for counseling and adoption of good and friendly voice in communication among others.

In addition, environmental related stress management strategies relating to avoiding noisy home and working environment, maintaining clean environment time management related stress coping strategies relating to setting priorities, application of work simplification, effective time planning and avoiding excessive workload among others for adoption by spouses for managing stress   among spouses in Katsina State. The  study also  identified factors that  could  hinder adoption of  stress  management strategies relating to wide age difference of the spouse, their level of education, large family size and cultural difference between spouses. The study covered possible ways through which spouses in Katsina state could be helped to adopt stress management strategies relating to developing good listening, openness and regular exercises among others for coping with stress in Katsina State.

The study covered literate spouses in Katsina state who are either self-employed or  civil  servants,  with  minimum qualification  of  General  Certificate  in  Education (G.C.E), Senior Secondary School Certificate (S.S.S.C), or its equivalents and above. The focus group are the beginning spouses (1-5 years of marriage) and the expanding stage of family life cycle (married families for five (5) years and above).



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ENHANCING STRESS MANAGEMENT AMONG SPOUSES IN KATSINA STATE NIGERIA

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