Financial Stress, Communication Quality, and Work-family Balance: a Structural Examination of Determinants of Marital Stability
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study examined the influence of financial stress, communication quality, and work-family life balance on marital stability among couples. The target population comprised couples residing in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State. The study adopted a quantitative correlational survey design. Four standardised instruments were adapted to collect data from 500 married individuals using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The instruments demonstrated acceptable internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of .80 for financial stress, .69 for communication quality, .73 for family life balance, and .82 for marital stability. Three research questions were raised and the data were analysed using Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression. A strong negative correlation between financial stress and marital stability was found (r =-0.240, p<0.05). There was no statistically significant correlation (r=0.065, p>0.05) between communication quality and marital stability. Work-family life balance had a positive relationship with marital stability (r = .264, p<.05). The three variables jointly accounted for 8.1% of the variance in marital stability (R² = .081, F = 14.463, p<.05). In the relative contribution analysis, work–family life balance emerged as the strongest predictor of marital stability, followed by financial stress, while communication quality remained non-significant. The study recommends context-aware marital therapy, regulations to assist professionals in juggling work and family commitments, and programs to educate the public about personal finance.
Institution: Federal University Oye Ekiti
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220190804