Influence of Type of Marriage and Gender on Marital Satisfaction among Couples in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the influence of type of marriage and gender on marital satisfaction among couples in Ghana. The study applied the cross-section design, and used the stratified sampling and simple random, the lottery procedure to select 576 participants for the study. The Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) developed by Essuman (2010) was used to collect data on marital satisfaction and structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data collected. The study revealed that inter-ethnic marriages were more satisfied than those in intra-ethnic marriages were. Also, it was found that female spouses in inter-ethnic marriages were more satisfied than females in intra-ethnic marriages. Based on the results, it was concluded that spouses in inter-ethnic marriages enjoy satisfaction in their marriages than those in intra-ethnic. It is therefore, recommended that marriage counsellors in collaboration with pastors in the various religious organizations such as churches and mosques should focus on such variables in their pre-marital counselling and during the spouses’ marriage counselling sessions to help spice up their marriages to bring about marital satisfaction.