Effectiveness of Feminist Therapy on Loneliness and Suicidal Ideation of IntimatePartner Violence among Married Women in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the effectiveness of feminist therapy in managing loneliness and suicidal ideation of Intimate Partner Violence among married women Ekiti State, Nigeria. All married women experiencing intimate violence constituted the population for the study. Two purposes with corresponding hypotheses were formulated and tested to guide the study. Quasi- experimental pre-test/post-test and control group design was adopted. Multi-stage sampling process was used to initially select 50 married women drawn. Four (4) Local Government Area council in Ekiti state as the sample for the study. The participants were assessed using intimate partner violence identification questionnaires and checklist as a baseline test. The experimental sample included 25 participants, 15 participants in treatment group and 10 participants in control group were selected for the study using multi-stage sampling technique. The Research instruments for relevant data collection were; The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale was adopted and The Modified Scale for Suicidal Ideation (MSSI) was adapted. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics for each hypothesis and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that participants levels of loneliness and suicidal ideation were significantly different when exposed to Feminist Therapy compared with control group. The study concluded that loneliness and suicidal ideation would persist until drastic measures were taken by the government and policy makers to address the problems of IPV.  The study  therefore  recommended  among  others:  marital  counselling  professionals should integrate Feminist Therapy into treatment for abused married women due to its potential in managing loneliness and suicidal ideation. Therapists training programs should cover Feminist Therapy techniques.