Assessment of Childhood Trauma and Marital Satisfaction among Married Christian Couples in Selected Churches in Dagoretti North Subcounty, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to examine the prevalence of childhood trauma, levels of marital satisfaction, their interrelationship, and the coping mechanisms employed by Christian couples. The study adopted a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Quantitative analysis of 195 participants revealed significant intercorrelations among different trauma variables: emotional abuse was strongly correlated with physical abuse (r = .877, p < .01), sexual abuse (r = .848, p < .01), emotional neglect (r = .286, p < .01), and physical neglect (r = .267, p < .01), suggesting that multiple forms of childhood maltreatment often occur together. However, correlation coefficients between childhood trauma indicators and marital satisfaction were weak and statistically non-significant, ranging from r = –.023 for physical neglect to r = .064 for emotional neglect, leading to the conclusion that childhood trauma does not significantly predict marital satisfaction. Descriptive results indicated that 47.7% of participants experienced moderate to severe emotional abuse, 48.2% physical abuse, 51.3% sexual abuse, 48.2% emotional neglect, and 49.7% physical neglect, confirming that childhood adversity is widespread among Christian couples in Dagoretti North. Despite these high trauma rates, marital satisfaction levels were largely moderate to low, with 65.1% of respondents reporting moderate-to-very-low satisfaction, while only 34.9% expressed high-to-very-high satisfaction, and merely 10.3% indicated very high satisfaction. Qualitative findings underscored the centrality of faith-based and communal coping mechanisms, with 70% of couples relying on prayer as a primary coping strategy and 40% reporting strong church support, though access to professional counseling remained limited. Approximately 45% attended marriage enrichment programs, most of whom (80%) reported improved communication and conflict resolution. The study concludes that while childhood trauma variables are interrelated, they do not significantly determine marital satisfaction among Christian couples, implying that other factors such as spiritual resilience, relational communication, and community support may buffer the negative effects of early trauma on marital relationships.