Gender Perception, Female Downgrading and Domestic Violence among Married Couples in Cross River State, Nigeria

Paulinus Marcel Akwa Adadu ,Alice O A Egbe,Josephine U Undie

doi:10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p423

Abstract

The study was designed to investigate gender perception, female downgrading and domestic violence among couples in Cross River State. the ext-post factor research design was used in this study. The major independent variables for the study were gender perception and female downgrading while domestic violence was dependent variable. Four research hypotheses were formulated to guide the research in this study. The sample for the study was 800 married couples, made up of 546 males and 254 females, a stratified random sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to get the subjects for the study. The major instrument for the data collection was four-point likert type scale called Gender Perception and Female Domestic Violence Questionnaire (GPFDVQ). The responses obtained from the instrument were coded, scored and analyzed statistically; group means and standard deviation were calculated. The independent t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were used to analyze the data. All the four hypotheses were tested at 0.5 level of significance based on the result of data analyzed. The following findings were made: (1) couples with negative self-concept, (2) there is a significant positive relationship between gender perception and the level of domestic violence among couples. The higher unfavourable perception of gender the higher the level of domestic violence among couples and (3) there is a significant negative relationship between female downgrading and the level of domestic violence among couples. Counselling implications as well as conclusion were made to make for a happy family life. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p423

Highlights

Psychological scientists often divide the way man perceives the world into two distinct phases namely sensation and perception
Gender perception has to do with the processing of signals in the brain and interpretation leading to thoughts by males and females about one another (Gazzaniga and Healtherton, 2003, Akpama 2014)
The purpose of this study is the need to arrest domestic violence among couples, by investigating into the social and psychological factors that influence domestic violence among women in order to help curb it or at least drastically reduce its incidence among couples in Cross River State, Nigeria

Summary

Introduction

Psychological scientists often divide the way man perceives the world into two distinct phases namely sensation and perception. Perception on the other hand, refers to the further processing of sensory signals in the brain that results in an internal representation of stimuli and the observer begins to think. Gender perception has to do with the processing of signals in the brain and interpretation leading to thoughts by males and females about one another (Gazzaniga and Healtherton, 2003, Akpama 2014). For some time gender perception, female down-grading and domestic violence among couples in Nigeria have increasingly become social menaces plaguing the family system. These problems constitute a lot of setback and poor family performance. Falling standard of family achievement of married couples is an important issue of concern to educationists, administrators and the general public at large

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion