Influence of Psychosocial Factors on Women’s Stay in Abusive Marriages: A Case of Kiambu Sub-County, Kiambu County

Abstract

Globally, the victims of domestic violence are essentially women and who tend to experience more severe forms of violence than men. In some cultures, domestic violence is often seen as justified particularly when the fault is directed on the part of the woman. In such cases, women are abused with impunity leaving devastating physical and psychological wounds. Despite the devastating consequences on the victims, they remain trapped in their abusive situations. This notwithstanding, less attention has-been paid to religious beliefs, perceived control, self-concept and hopefulness and their influence on women staying in abusive marriages. This study sought to establish how the said psychosocial factors influenced women to stay in abusive marriages in Kiambu Sub-County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to determine the influence of religious beliefs, perceived control, self-concept and hopefulness on women‟s stay in abusive marriages in Kiambu Sub-County. The learned helplessness theory and cycle of violence theory guided the study. The study employed a mixed method approach under descriptive design and was conducted in a half-way home „safe spaces‟ in Kiambu Sub-County. 38 women in abusive marriages taking refuge at the shelter were purposively sampled. They responded to questionnaires and an FGD guide. The research tools were piloted to ensure they were valid and reliable. Data analysis was done by use of descriptive statistics - mean, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages using SPSS v.25. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the selected psychosocial factors and women‟s stay in abusive marriages. Quantitative findings were presented in frequency tables, graphs and charts while the qualitative findings were analyzed thematically and presented in verbatim. The study established that the women‟s stay in abusive marriages was influenced by their religious beliefs as they agreed that they were not ready to quit their marriages due to their religious beliefs(mean = 4.27); their low perceived control as they argued that they would rather stay in abusive marriage than living alone (mean = 4.19) and did not want to mess up their families (mean = 4.11); their low self-concept as they accepted that most of the marriages had the same issues (mean = 4.36) and that they had no other option other than staying with their family (mean = 4.13); and their hopefulness for a positive change in their situation and/or in their husbands‟ abusive behaviour as they were hopeful better times lay ahead (mean = 4.27) and that they hoped that their husbands would change (mean = 4.12). The hypotheses tests results were that a statistically significant and positive relationship existed between the women‟s religious beliefs and their stay in abusive marriages (β = 0.712, p<0.05) as well as between the women‟s hopefulness and their stay in abusive marriages (β = 0.769, p<0.05). Further, a statistically significant and negative relationship existed between the women‟s perceived control and their stay in abusive marriages (β = -0.671, p<0.05) as well as between the women‟s self-concept and their stay in abusive marriages (β = -0.660, p<0.05). It was thus concluded that women‟s religious beliefs, perceived control, self-concept and hopefulness were psychosocial factors that had significant influence on their stay in abusive marriages in Kiambu Sub-County. The study recommends that efforts to empower women deal with abusive marriages should be enhanced at the individual and community levels. Other studies may build on insights derived from this review to further investigate this pertinent research subject.