Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
BY
MBAEGBU, PRISCILLA U.
(SUPERVISOR)
2
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Marriage is an institution that benefits the society largely because it forms the building block of
the society. It is not only a private contract involving a male and a female who live together
under the same roof having a form of sexual relationship; it is also a social institution of great
public concern. It is vital to the stability and preservation of our society in which a father and a
mother raise and nurture children. It also brings significant stability and meaning to human
relationships. It is an ideal for raising children and university students who fosters the transfer of
Therefore, marriage is a part of normal life which takes precedence over other relationships that
exist between humans. It is bound up with life that it is very significant and important that other
relationships. The success of marriage relationship leads to success in life, and its failure leads
People marry and are concerned for the wellness of marriage for these reasons: the essence of
marriage is to provide security both financially and emotionally. The natural cravings for
emotional security propel young men and women toward marriage so that they may confide in
The competitions of life are too strong and the jealousies too caustic to make it feasible or
desirable to face life alone. Marriage provides a complementary self, which serves as an
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emotional counter balance. The high rate of delinquency among university students is because
of lack of emotional and financial security, which the home fails to provide.
Marriage also provides for the spiritual and cultural growth of all members of the family. The
family is the structural unit of the community and of the nation. The spiritual and cultural tenor
The spiritual and cultural attainments of the individual members of a family are a reflection of
the influence existing within the family circle. Marriage generates and distributes those ideas of
personal responsibility and participation, which provide the backbone of our civilization. This is
accomplished by establishing absolute fidelity between husband and wife. When husband and
wife are genuinely true to each other, the influence permeates the home, providing a sense of
security which radiates through the community and a stabilizing influence among university
students.
The veneration in which marriage is held in the home, the community, the church, the nation, is a
reliable index of the moral quality of that home, community, church or nation. Compromise,
foundation of society.
Marriage provides the setting for determining the attitudes and standard of the next generation.
It is within the home that opportunities are afforded for incorporating the principles of true
democracy and regard for the rights of others. Respect for authority is learned or disregarded;
respect for personal choices/obligations is basic responsibilities for maintaining the standards
and ideals of society rests in the home and within the realm of marital relations.
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Marriage makes an incomplete human being a complete one. It makes him/her a grown up and
givers him/her responsibilities whether those responsibilities are to feed and clothe the wife or to
assist the husband. Marriage is expected to take a person out of the hectic lifestyles that one is
on and place him or her in an organized environment giving them a path to follow in life and a
shoulder to lean on. In fact, marriage arranges one’s life, giving him or her right to be a wife and
a husband. Marriage helps to safeguard one’s morality, that is, it stops one from committing
immoral act such as intermingling with people of the opposite sex or socializing.
Marriage reduces the possibility of one indulging in the act of homosexuality. Homosexuality is
not only against nature but is also seriously endangers one’s health. Homosexuals are or
bisexuals are much more likely to contract diseases such as AIDs and HIV from sexual
relationships than a man is who conducts sexual relationships with women. This is so because in
a woman/man relationship, only one way transmits disease whereas during a homosexual
relationship, there are two ways in which the disease can be contracted.
Marriage helps reduce the risk of abandoning a child born out of wedlock. Nowadays, formation
Many university students get dragged into this act and consequently. They are left to struggle
and suffer greatly due to financial difficulties. Thus, fornication plays an extremely significant
part in the fall of society. A relationship of one-night-stand, cohabitation should not exist among
university students unless they are ready to sacrifice and endure for their partners through
marriage which fulfils the law since the holy book says “to flee sexual immorality, let every
Good marriages create happy individuals and families, stronger communities and a more stable
society which makes it an act of will, involving mutual gift. Without good marriage, family
culture saves the society from different problems will not be. Marriage ties a man and a woman
Marriage is one of the most important decisions one makes during a lifetime. Two people learn
to live in harmony and achieve wisdom together and live comfortably. A balanced emotional
climate in the home brings an anti-social attitudes (Aguitar, I Galbes, H. 2004). University
students’ tensions are well cushioned in a stable family environment. A home where love and
emotional balance presides is the most powerful weapon for keeping a young person away from
Parental marital habits destructive and unbalanced, causes negative reactions among university
students. The nature of relationships out of marriage leads to temporal behavior devoid of
need role models and people who they can talk/confide in. Where families are broken and reflect
the state of society, university students do not receive the support they need; they are left
vulnerable to society’s ills and juvenile crime; leading to a life devoid of social responsibilities
and this degenerating cycle repeats. Marriage plays a part in saving one from fornication,
The cognitive immaturity that creates anxieties for the university students of marital dissolution
may sometimes lead to ego-identity problem as they become involved a antisocial groups and
activities.
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(Brag, 1988: Hetherington et al.: 1985) suggest that many university students’ may likely
depression.
Munger and Morse (1972), conclude that an important factor in an adolescents’ development is
Repressed anger due to parental marital dissolution may be channeled into destructive patterns,
The attitude of university students’ of parental marital dissolution may likely become what
(Munger and Morse, 1992), described as escapism, which is the desire to run away, hide, or
disappear. Their attitude may take form of hostile behaviours designed to obtain sympathy and
attention. Munger and Morse (1992) revealed that university students’ stand helpless in parental
insecurity, inadequacy and helplessness may likely make them to have attitudinal problem that
Research has shown that adolescent experiencing parental marital dissolution may likely have
negative attitude toward family formation. Amato (1994), Morrison and Cherlin (1995) and
neighbours, Forehand, and Armistead (1972) have provided evidence that university students’
whose parents divorce have more behavioural, emotional and attitudinal problems than children
from two-parent families. These studies note that parental marital dissolution tend to cause
negative stresses for university students’ that influence their development and attitude to family
formation amongst other variables is one aspect that is almost always negatively affected.
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The family is the fundamental unit of society and the primary setting in which university
students’ develop virtue; the family is seen as the center of happiness where university students’
learn love, trust, loyalty, cooperation and service. They learn to behave in a community and
The health of any society lies in the strength of its families. Hence, strengthen families will
strengthen communities and nations. Home should be a heaven where everyone is free, safe,
respected and accepted, families are meant to love, serve one another, spend time together by
preparing and eating meals together, adopting family hobby, taking family vacations,
communicating effectively for expression of love and respect for one another.
Studies have shown that the effects of family disruption due to parental marital dissolution is
likely to point to higher level of aggression and acts of violent behavior in university students
(Felner, Farber, Ginter, Boike and Cowen, 1981). Other studies have shown lightened anxiety,
intense anger, loneliness, and somatic complains (Wallerstein and Kelly, 1975), along with
For university students, parental marital dissolution had been shown to have likely potential
grave consequences. Schoettle and Cantwell (1980) have shown that university students’ who
experience family disruption due to parental marital dissolution may likely have an increased
Research by Hetherington (1972) and young and Parish (1977) found parental marital dissolution
to likely effect the ego of the university students’ in terms of low self-esteem, problems with sex
role development and greater difficulties in interactions with members of the opposite sex. The
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university students’ may experience what Wallerstein and Kelly (1974) tagged ‘the loss of
The type of behavior (ego) problems and coping mechanisms differ for university students’ of
different ages. Younger university students’ response to situations is likely to be different due to
their limited cognitive and social competencies, their dependency on their parents, and their
restriction to the home (Hetherington, Stanley-Hagan and Anderson, 1989). Hetherington et al.
(1989) indicate that following parental marital dissolution younger university students are likely
to be less able to appraise accurately the dissolution situation, the motives and feelings of their
The university students’ may likely blame themselves for the marital dissolution of their parents,
may fear abandonment which may negatively affect their ego seeking. (Wallerstein, Corbin and
Lewis, 1988).
The cognitive immaturity that creates anxieties for the university students’ of marital dissolution
may sometimes lead to ego-identity problem as they become involved in antisocial groups and
activities.
Lloyd and Desan (1992) submit that in private and public universities, students whose parents
are separated are more likely to have negative attitude towards family formation more than
students whose parents are currently married and such students may be socially disadvantaged.
Booth and Brinkerhoof (1984) believe that ‘the dark side of parents’ marriages, may impact all
aspects of offspring’s marriages including the degree of matrimonial happiness and conflict”.
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Arnetto (2000) opines that adolescence period is “emerging adulthood” whereby the adolescent
had social and cultural expectations to fulfill and if the expectations are not fulfilled then, they
It is also a period of search for a “unique social identity”. They are usually confused between
right and wrong. Santrock (2005) declares it as, a period of “storm and stress” a developmental
rapid and the thoughts, ideas and concepts developed greatly influence the individual’s life and
Conclusively, McLanahan and Sandefur (1994), stress that the loss of economic and social
resources may likely affect a university student’s self-motivation and attitude. They discovered
that university students who do not expect to form a family do not have a positive ego-identity
and high self-esteem, much of the research agrees that regardless of age, most university students
may likely not make a long term adjustment to parental marital dissolution.
discovered that the events in the home shortly before parental marital dissolution may be more
intensifying and may likely affect the university students’ attitude to family formation. Cherian
(1989) suggests that the home of parental marital dissolution could be a source of emotional
problems which might influence the ego-identity, and attitude of university students toward
family formation.
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Marriage is the bedrock of every society, which impacts every university students as high self
esteem, self-worth, begins at home. A society that progresses is a society that has stable
families. The families, a social unit of every society is to be a safe haven where sweet aroma of
recreational activities like love, acceptance, tolerance, respect, dignity and others are generated.
Every university student is to have a home whereby he or she is accepted regardless and thus
Alas, in our society today, precisely among university students in Ogun State Tertiary, Federal,
State/Public and Private universities, reverse is the case. No university student wants to be
involved in family formation, their ego is battered, their attitude toward family is questionable
because parental marital relationship has become highly questionable, in place of happy home is
a cultic activity, crimes ranging from stealing, maladjustment, pilfering and other antisocial
from life long commitment called family, due to parental marital dissolution, ego-identity which
Thus, considering the importance of marriage, ego-identity and family formation, this study tend
to find out the relation of parental marital dissolution, ego-identity and attitudes of university
students in Ogun State tertiary, Private, Public and Federal toward family formation.
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1. Will there be any significant relationship between parental marital dissolution and
2. Will there be any significant relationship between ego-identity and university students’
3. Will there be any significant relationship between parental marital dissolutions, ego-
4. What is the combine effect of parental marital dissolution ego-identity and university
5. What is the relative effect of parental marital dissolution and ego-identity on university
The purpose of this study is to investigate the parental marital dissolutions, ego-identity and the
attitudes of university students toward family formation in Ogun State Tertiary, Federal,
It shall also see if parental marital dissolutions shall not significantly influence the attitudes of
male and female university students in Federal, State/Public, and Private universities and to see if
ego-identity shall significantly influence the attitudes of universities students in Ogun State
Tertiary Federal, Private and State Public universities toward family formation in Ogun State.
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Conclusively, it shall find out if there will be no significant relationship between parental marital
dissolutions, ego-identity and attitudes toward family formation in Federal, state and
This study shall help to educate the counselors who would suggest to the government to establish
marriage counseling centers across the state which would counsel would-be-couples, university
students and already existing couples to understand that parental marital relationship may not
necessarily affect their attitude toward family formation since they are individuals that determine
The teacher would equally benefit from this study as they would be in a better position to
educate their students, especially (university students) across the state on the importance of
marriage as the bedrock of the family which benefits the society largely. The university students
will be educated from this study in that they would understand that their parents’ marital relation,
ego-identity may not necessarily affect their attitudes toward family formation because they too
are major decision makers in the society and without marriage, there cannot be a continuity in
The government/non-governmental agencies on the other hand shall be educated to know that
they owe an obligation to parents, teachers, and university students in establishing marriage
counseling centers across the state for both pre and post marriages.
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Parents shall also benefit from this study because they would understand that their marital
behavior affect positively or negatively the university students’ attitude towards family
formation.
This study shall be delimited to all randomly selected male and female university students from
Ogun State Tertiary, Federal, State/Public and Private universities in Ogun State, (Ages 18 and
Marriage: This is the union of a matured man and a matured woman, a civil status of one
before the death of either of the spouse, the separation, annulment and termination of a marriage.
It is also the legal act of terminating a marriage when in the opinion of the judge; differences
between the parties have caused the irreconcilable and permanent breakdown of the marriage
(Larson, 2006).
Ego-Identity: This is the conscious sense of self that one develops through social
interaction; the ego is that part of the identity which has been modified by the direct influence of
the external world. .. The ego represents what may be called reason and common sense, the
organized part of the personality structure which includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-
University Students: These are teenagers, youths and generally, young persons of late
childhood (13 years) and early adulthood (29 years) who are members of university of
Agriculture, Babcock and Olabisi Onabanjo Universities at the time of this study, who are under
the period of psychological, social and physical transition between childhood and adulthood
(gender specific, manhood or womanhood). The period of maturity from childhood to adulthood
which differs sociologically and culturally is a period according to World Health Organization
Attitudes: These are emotions that people get when they have other emotions. They are
positive, negative, or neutral views of an individual towards an event. They are judgments which
Family: This is a group consisting of parents, (father and mother) and their children
and all others related to them by marriage or blood. According to the anthropologists, family is a
culture’s biological and marital kinship rules and patterns of reciprocal obligations (Day, 2003).
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 INTRODUCTION
This section is solely for reviewing related and relevant studies carried out by other researchers.
The review will be done under two major headings: Theoretical and Empirical.
The theoretical review will look at the ideas, opinions, views and suggestions of different writers
on the variables at work and the empirical will concentrate on the findings of other researchers as
• Cultural/Ethnic Practices
• Economic Factors
• Family Structure
6. Ego-Identity
8. Family Ideologies/Beliefs
Marriage is the union of two different surnames, in friendship and in love, in order to continue
the posterity of the former sages, and to furnish those who shall preside at the sacrifices to
heaven and earth, at those in the ancestral temple, and at those at the altars to the spirit of the
land and grain (Confucius). A social union or institution in which interpersonal relationships,
usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledge in a variety of wages, depending on the culture or
Two personalities merge on ideas, purposes, attitudes, possibilities, habits, friendship and
reinforce each other in progressive integration; hence, marriage is the union of the soul and body
closely associated to last as long as life lasts. Jain (1988), postulates that marriage is essential
The institution of marriage pre-dates reliable recorded history and cultures have legends
concerning the origins of marriage. The conduction and rules of marriages ramifications has
changed over time. One of the oldest known and recorded marriage laws is discovered from
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have had theories on the origin of marriage. An example lies on a man’s need for assurance as to
Marriage in English common law was a voluntary contract by a man and a woman, in which by
agreement they choose to become husband and wife. Edward Westermarck proposed that ‘the
institution of marriage has probably developed out of a primeval habit’. Group marriages which
involve more than one member of each sex, and therefore are not either polygamy or polygandy ,
In Ancient Greece, no specific civil ceremony was required for the creation of a marriage – only
mutual agreement between the husband and wife who regard each other. In ancient Roman,
society, there was the traditional (conventional) form of marriage called ‘convention in magnum’
which required a ceremony with witness. A woman loses her family rights to inheritance of her
There was free marriage known as sine manu, where she remained a member of her original
family, kept under the authority of her father and kept her family rights.
During the early Christian era (30 to 325 CE), marriage was thought of a primarily, a private
In the 12th century women were obligated to take the name of their husbands and starting in the
second half of the 16th century parental consent along with the churches consent was required for
intention to marry and upon the subsequent physical union of the parties. The couple would
promise verbally to each other that they would be married to each other; the presence of a priest
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or witnesses was not required. The promise made to each other was known as the ’verbum’.
During the middle ages, marriages were arranged, sometimes as early as birth, and these early
pledges to marry were often used to ensure treaties between different royal families, nobles, and
heirs of freedoms.
In the early modern period, John Calvin and his protestant colleagues reformulated Christian
marriages by enacting the marriage ordinances of Geneva, which imposed the dual requirements
of state registration and church consecration to constitute marriage for recognition. In England
and Wales, Lord Hardwick’s marriage Act of 1753 required a formal ceremony of marriage,
thereby curtailing the practice of fleet marriage. Fleet marriage is a clandestine marriage
performed at fleet prison. In 1837, civil marriages were recognized as a legal alternative to
church marriages under the marriage Act of 1836. In Germany, civil marriages were recognized
in 1875, with a declaration of the marriage before an official clerk of the civil administration,
Divorce or marital dissolution existed as far back as ancient Mesopotamia. The ancient
Athenians liberally allowed divorce, but the person requesting divorce had to submit the request
to a magistrate, and the magistrate could determine if the reasons given were sufficient.
Although, liberally granted in ancient Athens, divorce was rare in early Roman culture. As the
Roman Empire grew in power authority, however, Roman civil law embraced the maxim,
‘matrimonia debent esse libera’ (Marriages ought to b e free’), and either husband or wife could
renounce the marriage at will. Though civil authority rarely intervened in divorces, social and
familial taboos guaranteed that divorce occurred only after serious circumspection. Although
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divorce as known today, was generally prohibited after the 10th century, actions allowing the
separation of husband and wife and annulment of the marriage were well-known. What is
referred to as ‘separate maintenance’ (or ‘legal separation’) was termed ‘divorce a mensa et
thoro’ (‘divorce from bed to board’). The husband and wife physically separated and were
forbidden to live to cohabit together, but their marriage did not terminate (Wikipedia The Free
Encyclopedia)
• Effects on the Marital Partners: Divorce may be seen as a sign of failure, and
divorced persons may feel that they have failed in one of life’s most important tasks.
depression, self-recrimination and thoughts of ‘what might have been’ if what they might
have done that may have made their marriage a success. Elumenthal, (1967) opines that,
‘divorced persons as a group show a consistently higher rate of drinking problems and
other signs of maladjustment (as well as mental disorder) than do non divorced persons.
A divorced person may likely face difficult adjustments like coping with less of security,
financial problems. Feelings of alienation and loneliness may add to the stress, sense of
rejection leading to feeling of hurt and self devaluation may equally be felt by the
divorced partners.
• Parental Marital Dissolutions and Children: Coleman (1970) suggests that children
are most likely affected by parental marital dissolutions. A number of studies conducted
by Coleman (1970) have shown that children of parental marital dissolutions are more
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likely emotionally disturbed, delinquent and maladjusted than more adolescents of intact
homes, particularly if the home was formerly happy and if they are emotionally close to
their parents. Often, the university students’ is torn by dual loyalties and may be hurt by
own bitterness and unhappiness to be concerned about helping ease the pain for their
children/adolescents. Pollack, 1967, puts it this way: “They (parents) fail to shield their
youngsters from the confusion, pain and shock which darkens so many broken homes.
They tend to neglect to subordinate their real or imaginary grievances against each other
by failing to work together for their children’s best interest”. The university students
tend to carry emotional scars that may handicap them in all close relationships.
Halford W. and Behrens, B (1999): Conger, R.; Cui, M.; Bryant, C. and Elder, G. (2000):
Amato and Booth, (2001) as contained in Horn, (2005) are of the opinion that marital
marital competencies and in competencies. Congo et al, (2000) submits that university
students and children are placed at risk for future marital instability through the process
distressed may have fewer opportunities to observe positive social skills (such as
resolving conflict cordially, support and compromising) that facilitate fulfilling, long-
term relationships. Stocker and Youngblade (1999) found out that there might likely be a
A university student who observes the parents’ hostility and negative effect as both
quarrel in the kitchen, may likely model those negative interpersonal behaviours in his
own peer relationship Dadds, Alkinson, Turner, Blunns and Lendich (1999).
threaten a child’s world. The divorcing parents most often are engaged and carried away
by their own problems that the university students most often may be neglected. As the
parents divorce, the children appear confused and insecure with the unrealistic idea that
Children of the divorced get depressed, lack concentration in school, have emotional
problems and may find it difficult in maintaining a stable relationship and most times
may become social miscreants and as a result, their attitudes to family formation may be
influenced. Walterstein and Blakeslee (1992), opines that two-thirds of young women
are usually anxious about making the same mistakes as their parents, and may express
Santrick (2005) opines “the daughters of the divorced parents are likely to have a more negative
opinion of males and family than did the girls from other family structures”. They distrust men
and women are afraid of having family because of what was experienced at home – adolescents’
Wyndol and Elizabeth (1998) in Santrick (2005) believes that university students with a secure
attachment to parents are more likely to approach family and relationships with closeness,
warmth, romance and intimacy, whereas university students with insecure attachment to parents
may approach family relationship with dismissing unresponsive attitude. They may equally
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immerse themselves into relationships as to insulate themselves from the stress of disjointed
There are however, identity formation strategies which a university student uses to adapt to a
changing world (Cote and Levin, 2002, p. 3-5) particularly when parental marital relationship
Symptoms
Refuser Develops cognitive blocks that Engages in child like Shows extensive
prevent adoption of parent role behavior dependency upon
schemes other and no
meaningful
engagement with the
community of adults
Drifter Possesses greater psychological Is apathetic toward Has no meaningful
resources than the refuser (i.e. application of engagement with or
intelligence, charisma) psychological commitment to adult
resources communities
Searcher Has a sense of dissatisfaction due to Shows disdain for Interacts to some
high personal and social imperfections within degree with role-
expectations the community models but ultimately
these relationship are
abandoned
Guardia Possesses clear personal values Identity is almost Sense of social
Sense of personal and attitudes, but exhausted by sense of identity and strong
n also a deep fear of change social identity identification with
adult communities
Resolver Consciously desires self-growth Accepts personal Is responsive to
skills and communities that
competencies and provide opportunity
uses them actively for self-growth
There are other classifications by Kenneth Gergen which include the strategic manipulator, the
pastiche personality, and the relational self. The strategic manipulator is a person who begins to
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regard all senses of identity as role-playing exercises and who gradually becomes alienated from
his or her toward a true or essential identity, instead views family formation.
The relational self is a perspective by which person abandon all sense of exclusive self, and view
all sense of identity in terms of social engagement with others. (Identity: Definition from
Aswers.com):
Scientists believe that family life began among prehistoric people more than 30,000 years ago.
This is so because of the infant’s need of care and the mother’s ability to nurse the child. The
earliest prehistoric people lived in groups made up of several families. They moved from place
Everyone worked for the survival of the group searching for food. At first, the early people
hunted small animals. In time, they developed the means to kill or capture large animals. The
hunting of large game for survival eventually led to division of labor between men and women.
The women gathered plants and animals near the home whereas the men went for large games.
The division of labour made men and gain power within the family. Family’s wealth depended
on its herd which the father controlled. This control of the family herd gave the father enormous
economic control/power over the family which eventually led him to be head of the family. The
family served as a means for passing on of land, properties, values, principles, norms and
The home is the center of family activities which include caring for university students, playing
games, watching television, keeping house and entertaining friends. In the home, university
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students learn basic social skills such as how to relate with peers and friends. A family’s home
life is influenced by members within and without. (The World Book Encyclopedia)
Hence, family formation is a formation period for a family, when a couple begins to develop a
serious relationship, gets engaged, or starts living together, and it usually continues for a period
of time. During this period says Day (2003), a couple begins to form a family cycle creating
rules of transformation and daily, monthly, and yearly routines and cycles. They construct
unique patterns of problems solving and decision making and ways of relating to friends and
Day (2003) continues to say that the family formation period, is a period when families get to
know each other by spending time together and deciding how their family would be like the
family she grew up in and different from and how their family would be like the family he grew
up in and different from it. It is a creative period as the new family may be constructing a
system that would be related to its environment and the changing world.
The ability to maintain or manage the family system opines Day (2003) may likely be due to the
formative period. At the maintenance or management stage, the family system becomes
relatively established and stable. The attention of the family may shift to different concerns like
child rearing, economic survival, ways of relating to changes in the environment and ways to
find fulfillment. This stage may to a large extent lead to disruption or not as many constructs,
opinions, routines, ideologies, and cycles may be forgotten and assumed (Day, 2003).
Furstenberg and Kierman, (2001) examined the relationship between parental divorce that
occurred during three time periods (childhood: age 7-16; transitional: 17-20; early adulthood: 21-
33 and various measures of psychological well-being and overall functioning. During the course
of the study, they discovered the adolescents experiencing parental divorce are likely to those in
post-childhood (i.e. both the transitional cohort and the early adulthood) and may likely have the
high frequency of cohabitation and increased dissolution of partnerships unlike those of intact
families.
(Furstenberg and Kierman, 2001) further discovered that the adolescents between ages 16-19
who experience parental marital dissolutions may likely be negatively impacted in their
The word ego is taken from Latin which is the nominative of the first singular personal pronoun
expressed as “I myself”. The Latin explains Freud’s German Das Ich which means “I”. Freud
has it that “the ego is that part of the Id which has been modified by the direct influence of the
external world… The ego represents what is called reason and common season… it comprises
of that organized part of the personality structure which includes defensive, perceptual,
In Freud’s theory, the ego mediates among the id, the super-ego, and the external world. Its
major task is to find a balance between primitive drives and reality while satisfying the id and
super-ego. It is concerned with an individual’s safety and allows some of id’s desires to be
expressed. Ego usually has defense mechanism when id behavior conflicts with reality and the
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society’s morals, norms, and taboos or the individual’s expectations as a result of internalized
The ego is the mediator between the id and the super-ego, trying to ensure that the needs of both
id and the super-ego are satisfied. It operates on a reality principle and allows the id and the
super-ego to express their desires, drives and morals in realistic and socially appropriate ways. It
Erick Erickson in his development of psychological theory of development developed the ego-
identity which may likely enhance a better understanding of marital satisfaction and marital
dissolutions. Marital relationships have long been a topic of concern in the field of marital
happiness and stability (Gleen, 1990: Hick and Platt, 1970; Spanier and Lewis, 1980). Research
has focused on the factors and partner attribution that are related to marital satisfaction (Arias
and Beach, 1987; Baucom and Epstein, 1990: Fincham Bradbury and Scott, 1990).
Gottman and Krokoff, (1989) indicates in their study that marital conflict is a likely indicative of
defensiveness, stubbornness and withdrawal which may lead to a less interaction resulting to
marital dissolution.
About six studies have assessed university students’ interpersonal experiences (i.e. emotions,
appraisals of meaning, coping strategies) of parental divorce and their likely psychological
adjustment.
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Though six studies, only three addresses the likely appraisals of meaning or coping strategies for
university students’ of divorced parents (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984) provided a conceptual
framework which provides a glimpse into the possible impact of adolescents appraisal and
Folkman (1984) suggest that the process through which humans make sense of everyday events
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) describe the appraisals of meaning as “the process of categorizing
an encounter and its various facets, with respect to its significance for well-being”. If the event is
whereas initial appraisals of an event as stressful are the catalyst for the activation of coping
resources, “there is an unfolding shifting pattern of cognitive appraisal and reappraisal, coping
and emotional processes” that may last for a period of time (Lazarus and Folkman, p. 142, 1984).
KranzClark, Pryn and Usher, 91985) published one of the first studies specifically examining
adolescents’ general appraisals of meaning and coping strategic with parental divorce. Sheetz,
Sandler and West (1996) examined the likely dimensions of appraisals of parental divorce and
their likely relationship with psychological symptoms in a sample of children between the ages
of 8 and 12 who experienced parental divorce. They focused their appraisals on the negative
event “that may likely” threaten the person’s ego identity or personal commitments, such as self-
or social esteem, moral values or well being of other persons” (Sheetz Sandler and West, 1996,
p. 2167). (Sandler, Tein and West, 1984) examined the coping behaviours and adjustment of
parental divorce. They distinguished between four dimensions of coping, active coping,
avoidance, distraction and social support (Sandler, et al. 1994, p. 1745). The coping dimensions
follows a model of analysis and they found that avoidance coping (e.g. not thinking about event,
28
fantasizing that it did not happen may lead to a very high level of depression, anxiety, and
conduct problems.
1. Links between parental marital dissolution and university students’ attitudes toward
family formation
psychological maladjustment.
From the various literature thus far reviewed, it is confirmed that parental marital dissolutions
and ego-identity may likely affect the attitude of university students in Ogun State toward family
formation.
Moreover, it is established that parental education and residence, parental marital dissolution,
adolescents and parental marital dissolution, parental religion, cultural/ethnic practice, family
29
values/Family life, economic factors, and family structure may massively affect university
University students could develop positive and promising attitudes toward family formation if
factors such as counseling, proper handling of marital affairs by parents, encouragement, support
During the course of the study, it was discovered that there may likely be no single study that
discovered more than one aspect of parents’ marital dissolutions and ego-identity of university
students’ attitude toward family formation among Ogun State in Federal, public/state and
universities.
30
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This research work was carried out in Ogun state university through the use of standard
questionnaire. More so this section contains the methodology employed in the conduct of the
study, sample size and sampling technique, instrumentation (design and development or
adaptation, administration and scoring) and the analytical procedure for the testing of the
research questions.
Data was collected with the aid of survey research. This entailed the use of a standard
questionnaire and the conduct of in-depth interviews. Four sets of questionnaires were designed.
2 ego-identity ,
31
4 family formation.
This questionnaires were designed to solicit response from the interest groups for the purpose of
this research.
In addition to the questionnaires, interviews were conducted by the researcher to allow in-depth
Simple random sampling technique was used for questionnaire administration. 150
questionnaires were given out to the parents, academic and non-academic staff and students. 140
were returned which represents a ratio of 93.3%. for the parents, 40 questionnaires were given
out, the academic staff (professors, doctors and other lecturers ) 30 questionnaires were given
out, non academics 25 questionnaires were given out, students, 45 questionnaires were given out
Data collected were subjected to statistical analysis for empirical conclusion using the Pearson’s
The awareness and the public’s positive perception of the relationship between parental marital
dissolution, ego-identity and attitudes of university students towards family formation in Ogun
state was not of a significant level. In view of this, the researcher sought the assistance of the
deans, head of departments, lecturers , students, parents and others which yielded a result of
90%.
Also, the parents, non-academic and academic staff, students and others were happy and
active in completing the questionnaires as they were of the opinion that the researcher would not
divulge their responses to the public. The researcher reassured them that their responses would
be treated with utmost confidentiality and 93.3% of the questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FOUR
The response of the respondents are presented at two levels. Firstly, the analysis of the bio-data.
Secondly, the research questions were tested based on the analysis of the field work.
MALE 60 42.85%
FEMALE 80 57.15%
From the above data, 42.85% of the respondents are males which represents the figure 60, while
21-30 45 32.14%
From the table above, 16.07% of the respondents fell within the age of 16-20 years, 32.14 % of
the respondents fell within the age of 21-30, 37.5% fell within the age of 31-40 while 14.29% 0f
the respondents fell within the age group of 41 and above. The category of 31-40 years recorded
the highest number of respondents whereas the 41 and above recorded the lowest number of
respondents.
ACADEMIC/ 25 17.85%
NON ACADEMIC 32.3 23.21%
The data above reveals that 17.85% are academic inclined and 23.21%are non-academics while
DIPLOMA 15 10.71%
BSC/BED/BA 40 28.57%
MSC/MED/MBA 60 21.43%
PHD 15 10.71%
OTHERS 28 19.64%
The above shows that all the respondents are literate though the level of qualification varies.
LEGAL 15 15.79%
ILLEGAL 35 36.84%
FORCEFUL 19 20%
WILLFUL 15 15.79%
NO REASON 11 11.58%
TOTAL 95 100%
35
From the above data, 15.79% of the divorce are legal while 36.84% are illegal divorce, 20% are
forceful divorce whereas 15.79% are willful divorce and 11.58% are for no reason.
NUMBER PERCENTAGE
POSTGRADUATES 4 4.12%
TOTAL 85 100%
From the above data, 11.76% diploma students suffer parental marital dissolution, while 26.47%
year 1 students are of parental marital dissolution, 30.59% of year 2 students are of parental
marital dissolution and 16.47% year 3 students are of parental marital dissolution. Whereas
10.59% of year 4 students are of parental marital dissolution and finally 4.12% postgraduate
students are also of parental marital dissolution making the figure a 100%
NUMBER PERCENTAGE
36
YES 32 38.24%
NO 38 44.12%
NO COMMENT 15 17.64%
TOTAL 85 100%
The high rate of students that answered no is as a result of unawareness of the issue in the
society. This issue of parental marital dissolution awareness has affected the morale of students
in their academic performance as people with parental marital dissolution discuss with people
NUMBER PERCENTAGE
YES 20 50%
NO 15 37.5%
NO COMMENT 5 12.5%
TOTAL 40 100%
The high rate of YES comment is as a result of the issue of marital dissolution becoming the
order of the day in our modern society. Thus, under normal circumstances, our religion, tradition,
belief, norms, customs, folks, and culture in the Nigerian set up does not encourage, support or
administer marital dissolution of any type such as legal illegal, forceful, willful, no reason etc.
NUMBER PERCENTAGE
TOTAL 35 100%
The high rate of respondents that admitted to this marital dissolution issue is due to the fact t that
modern society is encouraging marital dissolution/ single parenthood which is not part of
NUMBER PERCENTAGE
NO ANSWER 5 15.38%
From the above data, it could be seen that 43.10% accepted that marital dissolution is merely
practiced in our society. By this the Nigerian society has never given support or approval to the
Table 4.3.6 marital dissolution, its effect on academic performance in a university /academic
environment.
38
NUMBER PERCENTAGE
SATISFACTORY 5 16.67%
TOTAL 30 100%
The above shows that people are not satisfied with marital dissolution practiced in the society as
EDUCATIONAL SECTOR.
The people in Nigeria are of the opinion that the impact of marital dissolution in university
academic environment has not contributed to the social and economic development of the
educational system especially in public, private, and students’ psychological, emotional, and
social needs win the university academic environment in Nigeria. The low standard in university
educational environment is due to marital dissolution practiced in Nigeria and in the world
generally.
The responses received from the diploma students of the university revealed that marital
dissolution affects the morale and performance of their colleagues. More so, the impact of this
flows to those who are not of parental marital dissolution in the same academic environment,
39
(diploma) since the university environment is a social environment that accommodates all and
A good number of our students from year one to year four cannot disassociate themselves from
this marital dissolution phenomena and how it has affected them negatively in their academic
pursuit and in their sociological aspect of life, while in school. Though they agree that not all the
students in the university academic environment are products of marital dissolution but this
social misfit aftermath has affected others as well. Moreover, the students of parental dissolution
are kept different/ away from, the other students not of parental marital dissolution and vice
versa.
From our investigation, it was observed that the postgraduate students are mixture of students
and parents. A good number of them are students but few from parental marital dissolution
homes while the married ones are also having a few percentage of parental marital dissolution at
their tender married life which means many of them embark on academics/further studies to
make up for the future life expectancy as life continues, either married, or not, either dissolute or
not.
A good number of the parents accepted that marital dissolution in Nigeria is real and has affected
the social and academic performance of their children and they themselves are not left out.
Though they agreed that they did not bargain/ hope for marital dissolution, but circumstance has
40
brought this , such as smoking, promiscuity, lies insincerity, dishonesty, insecurity, finance,
drunkenness, marital incompetence, pilferage, stealing, lack of love, cruelty, callousness, sexual
molestations, high expectations, impotence, and infertility, lack of wealth, lack of attention,
parents’ education, place of residence, cultural and ethnic practice, siblings rivalry, values,
Basically, the hypothesis will be scientifically tested by using the mean, standard deviation and
the Z score mean. The hypothesis will be tested under a level of significance of 95% or 99% and
Hypothesis one
The relationship between parental marital The relationship between parental marital
dissolution ego-identity and attitude of nigerian dissolution, ego-identity, and attitude of
universities. Its effects and negative university students in nigerian universities.
performance of the students in their academic How it does not affect the performance of the
pursuit and social life. students in their academic pursuits and social
life.
From the above we can see that the different proportion of respondents to the questionnaire and
their relative percentages. The population size is 140, which can be divided amongst academic,
4.5b QUESTIONS
The effect/ impact of parental marital dissolution, Ego-identity and attitude of university students
STRICTLY 4 11 44 1 1 11
PRACTICED
MERELY 3 14 42 0 0 0
PRACTICED
NO 1 5 5 -2 4 20
42
ANSWER
The mean X
X =∑(FX) OR ∑(FX)
F n
Where X = MEAN
F =FREQUENCY
X = values or variables
(fs) = sample size or number of observations
∑ = summation or addition
Q = standard deviation
Q = F(x-x) or F(x-x)
(f) (n)
4.5c. therefore, the population standard deviation for a frequency distribution becomes
A = ∑f(x-x) or ∑F(x-x)
43
∑(f-1) n-1
Q= F(x) or F(x)
(f - 1) (n)
= 32.5
32.5-1
= 1.0157 approx = 1.02.
In the above analysis, it could be interpreted that the mean of the sample is 3 ascribed to the false
response. There is every tendency that the submission of the impact of parental marital
dissolution, ego-identity and attitude of university students toward family formation in Nigerian
universities, is not new and problematic as people thought but non- compliance by parents,
academic/non-academic staff and students affects the morale and performance of our students in
higher institutions.
4.5
The hypothesis will be tested statistically by using the Z-score mean. The Z-score measures the
distance of an observation from its mean in units of its standard deviation. This will be done
There are two tailed hypothesis, thus showing acceptance, there are some questions which
require respondents to rank their responses or answers, the system of ascribing weights to the
OPTIONS WEIGHTS
STRICTLY PRACTICED 4
MERELY PRACTICED 3
CAN’T DEFINITELY 2
NO ANSWER 1
In relation to this, the average of the upper and lower values will be used to test the acceptance of
=3+0.3130
= 3.313
Also 3-0.3130
=2.687
Z= x-xl
45
=3-2.687 = 0313
= 3-3.1597 = 0.1597
= 1.9599
Z-score =1.96
Decision,
Since the Z-score falls within the acceptance region on the confirmation that 3 equals to 0.597
(3= 0.597) therefore the hypothesis H0 which has it that “the relationship between parental
marital dissolution, Ego-identity, and Attitude of Nigerian universities, it effects and negative
performance of students in their academic pursuit and social life” is accepted while H1 is
CHAPTER FIVE
As the topic implies, relationship between parental marital dissolution, ego-identity and attitude
The summary of my findings shows that a conscious effort must be made by the university
administration to ensure that the relationship between parental marital dissolution, ego-identity
and its attitude of university students must be positively felt I a manner that would inspire
confidence.
However, in spite of the importance of the impact of parental marital dissolution, ego-identity
and attitude of university students towards family formation in the university education and its
role in academic standard development, the university should provide avenue for constant
investigation to know where there are abuses of parents’ marriages that would affect the morale
Though this research work has proved that relationship between parental marital dissolution,
ego- identity and attitudes of university students towards family formation if not properly
managed affects students morale, academics and social life. As regards the hypotheses, the under
1. The relationship between parental marital dissolution, ego- identity and attitude of
university students towards family formation in Nigeria affects their morale, academic
2. The relationship between parental marital dissolution, ego- identity and attitude of
university students toward family formation in Ogun state does not affect the morale,
5.2 CONCLUSION
47
The university education should not forget its primary responsibilities. It should always
remember that the primary function of university education is to impart knowledge, conduct
research and discharge community work. In discharging these primary functions, the public
universities have failed due to flaws in close monitoring of the morale, academics and social life
of the university students of parental marital dissolution whereas the private universities have
excelled due to the effective monitoring of the, morale, academic and social life of the university
students of parental marital dissolution homes, thereby creating a healthy environment and image
Finally, it could be properly said that university education in Nigeria will wear a bright and
smiling face if the universities will give a more befitting monitoring of the morale, academic and
social life of students of parental marital dissolution. The impact will be felt in terms of better
5.3 RECOMMENDATION
This study has shown that the relationship between parental marital dissolution, ego- identity and
attitude of university students towards family are not majorly felt in private universities due to
close monitoring of the morale, academic and social life of the students of parental marital
employed to remedy this obnoxious image of parental marital dissolution in public universities.
It may be useful to commission opinion polls and surveys aimed at finding out some of the way
in which the university education is perceived by the public and what the public expects from a
48
good usage on how to monitor properly the morale, academic and social life of students of
parental marital dissolution. Any useful information gathered should be positively responded to.
The press must be recognized by the university administrators as a vital ally and useful partner in
the promulgation of proper and useful ways of monitoring the morale, academic and social lives
university education. It must be shown I such release that the university is capable of living up
Sometimes, the image of university education is enhanced through identification with a worthy
public or communal activity such as family enrichment seminars, prudency campaigns, marriage
seminars and the importance of marriage and family life, such activities should be widely
publicized
5.3.4 Professionalism
In order to enjoy a good public image, the university education must employ qualified,
competent and reliable professional counselors/ administrators whose conduct and actions would
5.3.5 Innovation
49
The relationship between parental marital dissolution, ego-identity and attitude of university
students towards family formation in Ogun state. Nigerian policies should be innovatively
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APPENDIX 1
DEMOGRAPHICS DATA
1) What is your gender? Male ( ) Female ( )
2) Please tick who is solely responsible for the family income. Father ( ) Mother ( )
Both ( )
Answer the Following for the Primary wage earner in the family:
53
APPENDIX 2
PARENTAL MARITAL DISSOLUTIONS SCALE
S/N SA A SD D
1. Have you moved to a new home?
2. Do you have a new brother or sister?
3. Has any family member recently moved out?
4. Have your parents gotten divorced?
5. Have your parents separated?
54
10. Has there been a change in how much money your parents have?
APPENDIX 3
EGO-IDENTITY SCALE
S/N SA A SD D
1. If find myself in jam, I could think of many ways to get out of it.
2. At the present time, it may energetically pursue my goals.
3. There are lots of ways around any problem I am facing now.
4. I prefer hobbies that make me happy rather than family formation.
5. I believe I can make a difference in the world.
6. I have learned that setbacks and disappointments are an inevitable part
of life.
7. I believe in ultimate purpose in life.
8. Life has treated me unfairly
9. I have doubt as to the kind of person my abilities will enable one
become.
10. There are times when I do not know what is expected of me.
APPENDIX 4
SECTION D: ATTITUDE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ SCALES
Here are some questions describing university students attitudes, only tick ( /) one statement.
S/N SA A SD D
1. I have a mutually satisfying loving relationship.
2. I believe there is order and purpose in family formation.
55
APPENDIX 5
FAMILY FORMATION SCALE
S/N A SA D SD
1. I don’t want a family
2. I don’t want to be like my parents who always argue and fight.
3. I don’t want to be told what to do in a family.
4. I have distanced myself from forming a family.
5. My idea of a family has changed negatively
6. Family issue seems less important to me.
7. I have shut down on family.
8. I have grown psychologically detached from family issues.
9. I do not consider myself member of a family.
10. There is no feeling of pleasure in forming a family.