THE EFFECT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND FORGIVENESS ON MARITAL QUALITY IN KENYA: A CASE OF THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF NAIROBI, WITHIN KIAMBU AND NAIROBI COUNTIES, KENYA

Abstract

Optimum marital relationships facilitate spousal fulfillment and self-actualization in the personal needs, desires, and aspirations of married individuals. Despite many interventions before marriage and during marital life, couples still experience low-quality marriages. Therefore, the present study examined the effect of emotional intelligence and forgiveness on marital quality among married individuals in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya. The objectives of the study were; to establish the levels of emotional intelligence, to determine the levels of forgiveness, to identify the levels of marital quality, and to determine the relationship between the dimensions of emotional intelligence, forgiveness and marital quality among married individuals in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. The study was informed by Bowen’s Family System and Positive Psychology theories. It used a mixed-method design (parallel convergent design). The target population was 284 individuals married in the Catholic Church in 2019; and a sample size of 166 was selected from 6 deaneries using purposive sampling and Taro Yamane’s formula of determining sample size. Data collection tools used were Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test-SSEIT, Marital Quality Scale-MQS, Heartland Forgiveness Scale-HFS, and an open-ended questionnaire for qualitative analysis. The data was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences version 25 (SPSS v.25). Both quantitative and qualitative findings indicated that the level of emotional intelligence and quality of marriage was high and that an increase in emotional intelligence led to improved quality of marriage. Quantitative results showed that the level of forgiveness was low and that forgiveness was statistically insignificant in determining the quality of marriage. However, qualitative findings showed that forgiveness improved the quality of marriage. Finally, the strength of correlation of a combination of emotional intelligence and forgiveness on marital quality was positive but small (R=0.180) implying that they positively contributed to 3.3% of the quality of marriage. Thus the study concludes that when used together, emotional intelligence and forgiveness positively improve the quality of marriage among married individuals in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. The findings of this research add value to the family therapists, marriage counsellors, and educationists in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi and Kenya at large. Therefore, the study recommends that marriage counselors and pastoral agents in the Archdiocese of Nairobi should emphasize the importance of emotional intelligence and forgiveness in improving the quality of marital life during therapies. They should focus on psycho-educational training programs for married individuals with regard to their emotional intelligence and forgiveness.