The Role of Trait Forgiveness in Marital Contentment Among Married Couples in Citam Assemblies, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

In most marriages, marital problems are encountered once in a while. Couples who have very happy marriages also encounter problems in their relationship with each other due to an offense committed by the spouse. For a couple to maintain a healthy marital relationship, they need to have the ability to forgive each other. Through forgiveness, married partners become more like Christ and invite the Holy Spirit to enable them to show their love for the spouse and build a safe and holy relationship that could bring contentment. The study examined the role of trait forgiveness in marital contentment among married men and women selected in two Christ Is the Answer Ministries (CITAM) assemblies in Nairobi, namely Woodley and Valley Road. The objectives of the study were to examine the role of trait forgiveness on marital contentment and to investigate how commitment, empathy, and communication affect the relationship between forgiveness and marital contentment. A mixed-methods design was used to collect data using questionnaires and a focus group discussion guide. Results showed a very strong positive correlation between trait forgiveness and marital contentment with a relatively high composite score being obtained for trait forgiveness. Results revealed themes of intimacy, patience, affirmation, self-control, reflection, and praying together on the moderating role of commitment, empathy, and communication. This calls for its magnification in both counseling practice and marriage and family therapy sessions as a sustainable antidote to marital contentment under relational stress, especially among Christian couples. Counseling practitioners should therefore emphasize the principle of forgiveness as the key to healing emotional wounds that are caused by offenses that manifest in the course of a marriage.