INFLUENCE OF FAMILY VIOLENCE AND AGE ON MANIFESTATION OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG MARRIED WOMEN

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of family violence and age on the manifestation of depressive symptoms among married women. The sample for the study comprised 200 married women (100 battered and 100 non-battered) who were selected from Onitsha North Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria. Marital Conflict Behaviour Checklist (MCBC) was used to serve as an indicator of conflict behaviour which spouses engaged in, during conflicts. The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depressive Scale (CESD) Radloff, (1977) was used to measure the levels of depressive symptoms manifested by the participants. Data were analyzed using 2x2 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results showed that there was significant difference between battered and non-battered women on the report of depression and there was a statistically significant age difference in the manifestation of depression. Young battered women reported higher depression than old battered women. The findings suggest that depression was as a result of battering. The correlation co-efficient of marital conflict and depression showed to be positive and significant at (P>0.05), which implied that the higher the marital conflict, the higher the depression of the participants. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made.