Abstract

This study was conducted in Ongata Rongai Town, Kenya, with the objective of assessing the feelings and perceptions of young spouses aged 20-40 years with regard to how financial and economic difficulties influenced their spousal communication for sexual intimacy. Twenty couples were purposefully selected from young couples, living in 4 purposefully selected housing clusters within Ong’ata Rongai Town. Qualitative data were collected using observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The qualitative data were subsequently analysed using word tables and coded manually into themes, subthemes and narrative explanations. The results revealed that couples spent much time arguing over financial problems, and this in turn, curtailed the opportunities for intimate spousal communication. Most wives held the view that the money a wife earned belonged to her, while the money earned by the husband belonged to the family. Consequently, a man who did not fulfil the wife’s expectations diminished the warmth and sexual responsiveness of the spouse, thus making it difficult for the couple to engage in communication that develops feelings of sexual intimacy.

Key Words: Economic Stress; Couple Sexual Communication; Sexual Intimacy; Consultation; Consensus.

About the Author

*Macharia Kiruhi, Ph.D., is an Independent Consultant in health and sexual communication based in Nairobi, Kenya. He has held teaching and research positions at Nairobi University; the Africa Nazarene University; the Centre for African Family Studies of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Africa Regional Office and the Kenya Methodist University.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 15, No. 2, October 2023, pp. 52-62.

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

Article Citation

Kiruhi, M. (2023). Influence of financial and economic factors on spousal communication between young married couples in Ong’ata Rongai Town, Kenya. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 15 (2): 52-62.

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