Abstract:
Personality Traits have been found to be a major contributor in marital conflicts due to their effect on interpersonal interactions of a couple within marriage. However, few studies have been done in Kenya to examine the effect of personality traits on marital Satisfaction. In this study, two standardized self-report questionnaires, the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS and The Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI) were used to assess Personality Traits and to measure marital satisfaction. The scores from the questionnaires were then correlated in order to determine the relationship between Personality Traits and Marital Satisfaction.
The findings show that there was a significant positive correlation between Agreeableness
r (78 ) = 0.201, p < 0.05) and Openness r (78 ) = 0.215, p< 0.05) and Marital satisfaction, while Neuroticism was found to be significantly negatively correlated with marital satisfaction r (78 ) = - .228, p= .029). The significance was at 0.05 level (1 tailed test).There was a non - significant correlation (p = n.s) between Extraversion, Conscientiousness and marital satisfaction. This implies that the two traits did not significantly influence marital satisfaction.
The study recommends clinicians incorporate the use of personality assessments during their work with couples so as to identify and reinforce the valuable traits identified in this study, and use them to enhance marriages of their clients. Another recommendation was to identify components of church enrichment programs for use in couple therapy.
