Factors Affecting Satisfaction in Ghanaian Marriages

Factors Affecting Satisfaction in Ghanaian Marriages There are many factors that influence the health and happiness in a marriage, such as education, upbringing, family structure, presence of counseling, and attachment styles. While Ghanaian marriages may differ from marriages in the United States, in terms of religion, customs and tradition, many of the same variables are involved. The purpose of this research was to examine two different factors in marriages across the Ghanaian population- affection, and openness and honesty, and how they contribute to the overall satisfaction each partner experiences. Two separate hypotheses were formulated. First, the more the subject witnessed their parents/caregivers displaying affection toward one another, the more likely they are to be satisfied with the affection they receive from their partner. Second, the more people the subject talked to about their problems outside their marriage, the less open and honest they were with their partner. The study analyzed secondary data collected from a 2019 survey involving 231 married participants- Ghanaians living in Ghana or the Diaspora. The results showed that male participants significantly reported higher levels of satisfaction with affection in their marriage compared to females, although no significant correlation was found between affection witnessed between parents growing up, and reported affection in the participant’s own marriage. Additionally, there was no significant association between openness and honesty and the number of outside people each partner talked to about their problems. The findings of the research contribute to the understanding of different emotional aspects in a marriage, and how they affect the communication and overall satisfaction. While the research only contains a small sample of participants of Ghanaian origin, the survey measures can be used to examine other groups of people, comparing similarities and differences across cultures. Future research can study how these variables affect men and women differently, or the relationship between the two dependent variables themselves- examining whether openness and honesty matters more when affection is low. Key words: Ghanaian couples, marital satisfaction, affection, openness and honesty