Domestic Violence, Forgiveness and Self-Regulation as Predictors of Marital Satisfaction among Married Catholic Women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria

Marital satisfaction is essential to promote marital stability; however, many married Catholic women are not satisfied with their marriage. Therefore, this study examined domestic violence, forgiveness, and self-regulation as predictors of marital satisfaction among married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria. A total of 316 married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria, within the age range of 18-65 years, with a mean age of 29.67 and a standard deviation of 8.3, were recruited for the study. The participants were administered the Domestic Violence Scale, Self-Regulation Questionnaire, Heartland Forgiveness Scale, and Marital Satisfaction Scale. The study made use of predictive correlation research design and a hierarchical regression model for data analysis. Four hypotheses were stated and tested. The first hypothesis, which stated that domestic violence predicts marital satisfaction among married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria, was accepted, indicating that domestic violence does not predict marital satisfaction among the married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria at (B = -.709, t = -7.803, 13.698, R2 = .668, Sig = .061). The second hypothesis which stated that forgiveness predicts marital satisfaction among married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria was rejected indicating that forgiveness predicted marital satisfaction among the married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria at (B = .974, t = 82.045, 53.882, R2 = .948, Sig = .000 P<.05). The third hypothesis which stated that self-regulation predicts marital satisfaction among married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria was rejected indicating that self-regulation predicted marital satisfaction among the married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria at (B = .814, t = 1.336, 17.637, R2 = .663, Sig = .000 P<.05). The fourth hypothesis which stated that there will be a significant age difference in marital satisfaction among married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria was accepted indicating that age differences predicted marital satisfaction among the married Catholic women in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria at (B = -.117, t = 17.826, 12.883, Sig = .000 P<.05). It is therefore recommended that marriage programs for married women should introduce teachings and practical exercises on forgiveness and self-regulations and also, Clinical Psychologists should help Catholic married women develop forgiveness skills as a core coping strategy for marital conflicts and also psycho-educate them on strategies for monitoring thoughts, emotions, and behaviors during marital disagreements.