Chauvinism, Marital Obligation, and Traditional Social Orientation as Predictors of Spousal Domestic Violence in Ohaukwu L.G.A, Ebonyi State

This study investigated chauvinism, marital obligation, and traditional social orientation as predictors of spousal domestic violence in Ohaukwu LGA. Participants were 215 married couples conveniently drawn from different communities in Ohaukwu LGA, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. They were made up of 115 (53.5%) males and 101 (46.5%) females, with the age range of 26-60 (M = 33.48, SD = 7.30). Four instruments were used to measure the constructs in this study, namely: Male Chauvinism Scale, Domestic Violence Questionnaire, Relationship Commitment Scale, and The General Causality Orientation Scale. Data was analysed using the stepwise multiple regression analyses in SPSS® 26. Results of the study showed that chauvinism (β = .060, p< .001) was a significant predictor of spousal domestic violence among couple in Ohaukwu LGA. Marital Obligation (β = -.305, p< .01) was a negative significant predictor of spousal domestic violence among couple in Ohaukwu LGA. Traditional social orientation (β = .088, p< .001) was not a significant predictor of spousal domestic violence among couple in Ohaukwu LGA. One practical implication of the finding is that both chauvinism and marital obligation among couples have been found to be potential factors that explain spousal domestic violence in Ohaukwu LGA of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The study is limited by choice of involving only one study area. It is recommended that further studies interested in same variable may consider adopting mixed method in order to gain more understanding of the links between the IVs and the DV.