Changing Gender Roles and Its Effects on the Psychosocial Wellbeing of Married Men: A Comparative Study of Rural and Urban Dwellers in Greater Accra Region.
Date
2017-07
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Publisher
University of Ghana
Abstract
This study examined the impact of changing gender roles on the psycho-social well-being of married men in some rural and urban communities in Ghana. A simultaneous quantitative and qualitative mixed method design was employed in this respect. Using the nested sampling design, 16 respondents were interviewed in the qualitative component and 208 respondents responded to questionnaires in the quantitative component from urban and rural communities. Thematic content analysis and multiple regression were used to analyze the qualitative and quantitative data respectively. The results generally indicated that incongruence in the the gender role attitude of couples leads to psychological distress and low self-esteem in married men. Incongruence, however, had no implication for the marital satisfaction and aggressive behaviour of married men. In comparing rural and urban men on their psycho-social well-being, incongruence in gender role led to psychological distress and marital satisfaction among urban men but not for rural men. It was also observed that, incongruence in gender roles had negative consequences for the self-esteem of rural married men but not for urban married men. Overall, traditional gender role attitude was also found to predict aggression. Qualitative findings also revealed that both rural and urban married men are traditional in their gender roles. Some married men also reported some changes in the gender roles of their wives. These findings are important for psychologists and counselors in handling issues of domestic violence and marital counselling.
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Keywords
Rural and Urban Dwellers, Greater Accra Region, Gender Roles, Psychosocial Wellbeing, Married Men