Exploring the Reasons for Marital Dissolution Among Residents in Hosanna, Southwest Ethiopia: A Phenomenological Study

Marital dissolution is a major social determinant of health, with enormous and ultimately irreversible consequences for children, the individuals involved, and society as a whole. This study explored the reasons for marital dissolution in Hosanna, Ethiopia. A phenomenological study was carried out on 29 individuals selected based on their lived experiences of marital breakdown using the maximum variation purposive sampling technique. We used this method to capture a wide range of experiences related to marital dissolution. We delineated a thematic analysis to drive the initial codes directly from the text data. Open Code 4.02 was used to process data. Five themes emerged as drivers of marital breakdown, including socioeconomic reasons, communication and commitment issues, external pressures, attitude and behavioral changes, and disagreements on sexual matters and personal interests. Likewise, four themes emerged to advance the prevention measures of marital dissolution, including 1) commitment to the relationship, 2) improving knowledge and skills in marital relationships, 3) protecting marriages from external stressors, and 4) improving appearance and well-being. Behavioral changes in marital relationships are one of the causes of marital breakdown. This study implies the need for interventions designed and built in the local context to mitigate the drivers of marital dissolution.


INTRODUCTION
Family is the most basic and primary unit of human interaction on which society is built (Riggs & Tweedell, 2005).Marital companionship is a foundation for family.Marriage is one of the most intriguing events in human life (Sherif et al., 2012).Beginning from early human history the continuity of the human race has been made possible due to the relationship of males and females as a means of human procreation (Benaghiano & Mori, 2009).
Marital dissolution, a break in marital bond through divorce or separation, is the most painful event for people involved, exposing them to a variety of health, psychological, and socioeconomic tribulations (Gadalla, 2009).Marital dissolution has profoundly long-lasting deleterious health (Ding et al., 2021), economic, and psychological (Fura, 2018) impacts on the involved partners, their children, and the entire society.It is also associated with worsening mental and physical health problems and increased demand for health service use (Lin et al., 2019).
Marital dissolution is now widely popular in different parts of the world.The prevalence in Ethiopia is also increasing.Available reports indicate that about 25-45% of first marriages in Ethiopia end in divorce or separation (Dagnew et al., 2020;Tilson & Larsen, 2000).Most previous studies of marital dissolution have emphasized the consequences of marital dissolution, while the reasons for marriage breakdown have not been well documented.Furthermore, the studies that do exist are largely focused on selected segments of the population (Fura, 2018).Whereas, the most important stakeholders such as the community elders, court judges, lawyers, and government officials have not been elucidated.Likewise, emerging causes related to divorce attitudes, social media (Facebook) abuse, and the influence of religious educators have not been highlighted in previous studies.This study aims to provide insight into the reasons for marital breakdown and shed light on measures to mitigate marital discord in Hosanna town, southwestern Ethiopia.

METHODS
We used a phenomenological study to explore the views and experiences of individuals purposively selected based on their lived experiences on the reasons for marital dissolution in Hosanna town.Data were collected from January 30 to February 30, 2022.A total of 29 (16 male, 13 female) individuals were recruited and participated in this study.Seventeen (10 men, 7 women) were approached for in-depth interviews (IDI).Whereas, 12 (6 men and 6 women) underwent focus group discussion (FGD).The two FGDs, each involving 6 people, were held with people who had been in a stable marriage for at least 20 years and had a history of divorce/separation from their family members.In all cases, participants were purposively selected based on their deeper perspectives and experiences about the reasons and possible solutions for marital dissolution and as they were able to share first-hand information about their lived experiences in their respective matrimonial bonds before the breakups of their marriages.We used the maximum variation purposive sampling technique (Palinkas et al., 2015) to explore the reasons for marital breakdown.We purposively include people with diverse experiences, such as divorced/ separated persons, marriage lawyers, community elders, prisoners, courts, and churches.People who had been married for a long time were also included in the study.We used this method to capture a wide range of experiences (Palinkas et al., 2015) related to marital dissolution.

Data Collection Instrument and Procedure
We used an interview and FGD guide to collect data.The tool was developed by reviewing relevant literature (Fura, 2018;Mekonnen et al., 2019;Scott et al., 2013) and based on expert opinion (from psychology and researchers).The principal investigator facilitated all the interview and discussion sessions.Both interviews and FGD were conducted at a time and place agreed upon by the participants.Each interview and discussion lasted an average of 40-90 minutes.

Data Analysis
Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, and field notes were organized.We associate field notes with transcripts to enrich the text.Transcripts were then fed into the Open Code 4.02 computer program, which is designed to organize, analyze, and encode data generated from textual information (Hwang, 2008).We used a thematic analysis to process data.

Data Trustworthiness
In this study, we included a diverse group of participants with varying backgrounds.This approach may help data quality to verify the individual's experiences against others.Furthermore, we employed different data collection techniques (IDI and FGD) and triangulated the results.During the interview, at the end of each item, the summary of the data was presented to the respondents to ensure consistency between what they said and what we recorded.Moreover, indepth and repeated reading of field notes and listening to the audio -records, were also considered to strengthen the dependability and confirmability of the data (Nowell et al., 2017).Finally, the authors provided definitions and interpretations based on the purpose of the study that could increase its credibility.

Ethical Considerations
This study has obtained an ethical clearance from the institutional review board of Bahir Dar University College of Medicine and Health Sciences.The participants were told that participation in this study is voluntary and the information they provided would be used for research purposes only.The purpose of research and information confidentiality was briefly described to the potential interviewees and discussants.To ensure confidentiality, interviews, and discussions were conducted in a comfortable environment such as the participant's house and offices.Pseudo names were assigned during the discussion, and other personal identifiers were eliminated from the data collection tool.The audio-recorded transcripts and written notes containing the participants' information were kept well in a private place and destroyed immediately after the completion of the transcription.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The study comprised three groups of participants; separated or divorced individuals, officials from different organizations, and community members.A total of twenty-nine individuals between the ages of 24-68 years participated in this study (table 1

Reasons for Marital Dissolution
The participants' experiences and perspectives on reasons for marital dissolution were grouped into five themes.These are 1) socio-economic reasons, 2) communication and commitment problems, 3) external pressures, 4) attitudes and behavioral shifts, and 5) disagreements on sexual matters and personal interests.

Behavioral Shifts
The changing meaning of marriage and the dissolution of marriages is one of the common behavioral shifts over the past few decades.Changes in attitude towards marital relationships and the erosion of religious and cultural values have been used to illustrate this theme.
The effect of clothing choices on marital dissolution.The relationship between husband and wife is one of the most important life courses and sensitive relationships in the family.Various factors are known to influence this relationship.Appearance, especially the choice of clothing, and communication with a spouse about attire are important factors in the breakdown of marriages.
A 35-year-old male participant reported that disagreement between spouses over clothing style had a negative impact on the marital relationship.
Effects of premarital behavior and sudden status changes on marriage relationships " "Sometimes, Women change their premarital behavior.""" changes her mind and behavior after marriage."He added: "" during courtship, she obeys everything and was OK with everything.""" but after she gets married, she changed her behavior.Disobedience" This is what happened to me." (Respondent 03, a 40-year-man).
. " "I helped her (my wife) get an education from the tenth grade to the graduate degree"." "After graduating, she entered into politics"." and spent lots of time with different people"."She frequently says, "I have a meeting and so on"" Finally (Tears in his eyes), she boldly said, "You don't fit me." (Shakes head)."The problem [reason] is forgetting yesterday's identity."(Respondent 04, a 45-year-old man).
""Drinking [alcohol] and Khat chewing habit was the root cause of the breakdown of our marriage" (Respondent 14, a 27-year-old woman).
The findings of this study suggest that changes in attitudes and behaviors about marriage affect marital relationships.In this domain, the definition of marriage as a lifelong commitment has changed, and gradually evolved to an emphasis on selffulfillment.This finding is consistent with previous research examining the effect of attitudes on marital dissolution (Whitton et al., 2013).
It was noted that the couples' clothing choices and lifestyles could lead to marital dissolution.This finding is consistent with previous research evaluating the effects of fashion and physicality on marital dissolution (Entwistle, 2000).The clothing styles such as nudity and apparel which are socially unacceptable were stressed in this study.The style of dressing and choice of clothing is directly related to personality traits (Gillani et al., 2016).This link is more likely to explain the effect of unacceptable dress style on marital breakdown.
Correspondingly, unacceptable personalities related to one's status changes such as forgetting former identities, tendencies toward self-interest, and erosion of religious and cultural values were detrimental to marital relationships.Consistently, previous studies assessing the impact of personality on marital relationships have also reported that divorce is associated with low emotional stability and extraversion (Lundberg, 2012).
The results also highlight the influence of child preference and composition on marital dissolution.Consistently, other studies have found a strong son preference, whereby having a son significantly reduces the risk of parental divorce (Smith-Greenaway et al., 2019).Children are held in high regard at all levels of the Ethiopian community.More often, children have both psychological and economic value to their parents.Thus, the number and sex composition of children can have an important influence on couples' marital relationships.
Additionally, most of the participants in our study spoke about the impact of infidelity on their marital relationships.Engagement in sexual relations with a person other than one's partner, secret life, hiding properties from a partner, and spending money on an extramarital partner were the marital infidelity encountered by study participants.Sometimes it can be related to anger and resentment.Marital dissolution usually starts with a causal relationship, evolves into an emotional event, and then becomes a physical event.Previous studies have shown similar findings (Scott et al., 2013;Sweeney, M. M, & Horwitz, 2016).
Infidelity remains one of the top causes of marriage breakdown.Naturally, everyone wants to have a loyal partner.The other is that if a partner is engaged in an extramarital relationships, he/she fails to offer the necessary inputs (money, love, sexual relation) to the first spouse.The partner who is unable to obtain these items may file for divorce.
Substance abuse (alcoholism, habit of chewing khat) was another reason for marriage breakdown in this study.Previous research in other fields has shown that alcohol consumption is a cause of marital breakdown (Amato & Previti, 2004;Cranford, 2014).It has also been reported that most khat-consuming households do not have an emergency fund or family plan.In short, the habit of chewing khat affects families, affecting their social and economic well-being and undermining their unity.The habit of chewing khat can place a huge financial and time burden on individuals and entire families (Bekele Etana, 2018;Gudata, 2020).It can also cause impotence in men (Akalu et al., 2020).The adverse effects of substance use can subsequently weaken the bond between spouses and lead to marital breakdown.

External Pressures
This section explores how the study participants describe their marital experiences and how they view the influence of unnecessary interference of in-laws and other close people on marital dissolution.
""It was her (wife's) family who disturbed my marital life (Participant 03, a 40-year-old man) A 47-year-old divorced participant also spoke about the influence of family interference on their marital relationship.Described his experience as: "", if there is unnecessary family interference, minor conflicts escalate into divorce." "" they (family) start disturbing the couples by formulating new agendas and magnifying the differences."(Respondent 16, a 35-year-old man) Family is an important source of support and security.However, societies around the world vary widely in their understanding of the role of the family in marital relationships (Barikani et al., 2012).The results of this study are consistent with previous literature (Barikani et al., 2012).
Moreover, the influence of friends should not be underestimated.These findings are per research showing disapproval of friends and increased spousal conflict and divorce (Fiori et al., 2018).A couple's friends can have an impact on a couple's relationship in two ways.More often, a husband wants his partner to like and approve of his friends.So, does a wife.If a husband dislikes his wife's friends and or a wife dislikes her husband's friends, the couple may end up in conflict.Conversely, if unlimited attachments are established, unwanted relationships will be created.These combined effects may explain the influence of husbands' and wives' friends on marital relationships.
In addition to family and friends, the influence of some religious educators is also a reported reason for the breakdown of marriages.Religious teachers, in particular, are believed to play an important role in marriage.However, the negative effects of some religious educators have been observed in this study.We could not find any study to discuss this result.We recognize that individuals' attitudes and their way of life influence their roles and responsibilities.Thus, couples need to be careful and understand the factors that can harm their marriage.
Most of the interviewees said that health problems and the current family law allow couples to file for divorce due to harassment, sexual incompatibility, and other reasons.The current study is consistent with a study conducted in rural Malawi and sub-Saharan Africa that showed HIVpositive individuals were at greater risk of union dissolution (Anglewicz, 2014).The effect of this infection on the breakdown of marriages may be due to; first, that it is an infectious disease that can be transmitted from one person to another mainly through sexual intercourse.Thus, one of the partners may prefer to divorce or separate due to fear of contracting the infection.It can also maximize distrust between the spouses.

Socio-economic Reasons for Marital Dissolution
One of the factors that the participants experienced was socio-economic reasons.Premarital reasons such as getting married, financial hardship (lack of essential assets), marriages without the consent of the spouses, social media (Facebook) abuse, social instability, and early marriage were the most commonly reported reasons in this category.
A 38-year-old female participant explained her experience; "" He was going to be arrested for raping me.He was convicted.It was his sister's husband (Paused)."" He asked me to drop the case and get married.Then, I dismissed the charges and got married.I didn't understand his trick so, I decided to marry him.But he married me to escape the charges.They betrayed me.""They persuaded me." "They cheated me by saying, "Not alone from ", we would bring him back from Elsewhere."They deceived me so much (Pause)" "He left me and moved elsewhere.We separated."(Respondent09, a 38-year-old woman).
Moreover, the majority of the discussants approved that misuse of social media (Facebook) was very dangerous for marital relationships.
"" Early marriage and a family-based marriage [marriage outside of the couple's wishes]"contribute to the breakdown of marriages."(Respondent 08, a 34-year-old woman).
..." Yes, the reason [for divorce] was an economic problem" ""The reason was related to the economy (Respondent 08, a 34-year-old woman).
Similar patterns of findings have been reported in previous studies on the influence of socioeconomic factors on marital relationships (Lowenstein, 2005).A family is an institution that requires mature leaders, a husband, and a wife.Age teaches us many things and observations claim that people's ability to reason improves as age increases (Carstensen et al., 2011).In most societies, age entails a cultural definition of one's position in society and in households (Abera et al., 2020).In most cases, a younger person is not given full responsibility to manage the family's wealth.Because of this, women who marry at a young age will have less chance of managing the property at the household level (Abera et al., 2020).This situation can create a tendency to make one superior and the other inferior (power imbalance).The party who lost responsibility in the marriage may enter into conflict by raising the question of rights.Moreover, it is believed that conflict is inevitable in marital relationships.People who marry at a younger age are less capable of resolving conflicts.Combined, these factors can put pressure on marital relationships.
Social media abuse contributes to and exacerbates problems in marital relationships.Consistently, other previous work on marriage dissolution (2019) showed a negative impact of social media abuse on marriage dissolution (Kamal, 2021).
It also shows that socio-demographic disparities were the reasons for marital dissolution.The socio-demographic characteristics are as important as physical health variables in affecting a person's ability to function effectively (Koukouli & Philalithis, 2002).One of the socio-demographic variables identified in this study is the large age difference.Consistently, previous studies have shown that the greater the age gap, the greater the risk of divorce (Drefahl, 2010).The needs and abilities of individuals at different ages could explain this effect.In other words, couples of different ages are less resilient to the negative situations they face in their marital relationship than couples of the same age (Lee & Mckinnish, 2019).

Disagreements on Sexual Matters and Personal Interests
One of the most frequently repeated answers that emerged when we asked participants about the reasons for the dissolution of the marriage was sexual incompatibility.Many participants said sexual incompatibility and racial differences were recurring causes of marriage dissolution.
""the reason was a bedtime Game (Sexual incompatibility)."many (couples) are divorced due to sexual incompatibility."(Respondent 07, a 52-year-woman) ""The major reason for conflict and divorce was "Be alega lay chewata yalmetatam" (Incompatibility in bedtime games) [disagreement in sexual intercourse] " "If you see a couple fighting and ask why they are fighting, she says he (husband) didn't buy me Teff [a cereal used to make Enjera (Ethiopian traditional food)]."Most of the time problems with sexual dissatisfaction are compounded by another problem."(Respondent 06, a 47-years old-man) [In other words, this is a comment showing that even if there is a sexual issue, the spouse does not want to go public because talking about it is considered taboo in Ethiopian culture].
In this study, sexual incompatibility was identified as one of the reasons for marital breakdown.Our findings are consistent with previous literature showing how sexual incompatibility influences and exacerbates the presence of marital dissolution among participants (Mekonnen et al., 2019).Human sexuality is one of the most pleasurable activities in the marital union to enjoy life, bring his/her descendants, and perpetuate humankind on earth.It is believed to be one of the major purposes of concluding marriage.Thus, mismatches in sexuality (physical attraction, having similar sexual preferences) can ruin a marriage and result in marital dissolution.

Communication and Commitment Problems
The commonly reported communication problems were marital communication skills problems, rumors, anger, and hatred.Whereas, commitment issues such as failure to meet responsibilities, unfair exercise, lack of physical intimacy, and impatience are the reported reasons for marriage breakdown.Participants who experienced communication problems in their marriages expressed their views: ""Lack of communication skills leads to divorce.It happened due to issues that can be easily remedied."(Respondent 13, Another participant also explained the influence of information and facts about marriage on marital discord: ""Lack of understanding of marriage, especially expectations of marriage, can lead to marital dissolution.""" Marital life is a union of two individuals having different lifestyles and socio-cultural backgrounds.One of the most common causes of marital discord is the inability to understand this fact.Yes, they conflict, because they don't understand this fact" (Respondent 07, a 52-year-old woman) "" Marital life is as a juncture of two rivers.When two rivers meet, there is noise.Because both rivers come with different types of soil.The one comes from ", which brings black soil, and the other comes from red soil, brings red soil." There could be chaos where they (two rivers) meet until they merge.But after a few miles or so, it takes on a form.Marriage is like that." Because this is the union of two different individuals.The male (husband) has his own cultural background, family style, and family context.She (wife) also has the personality in which she grew up.It is under these influences that they become one flesh.It is the union of two different entities.So at that point, there will be conflicts in the early stages.The conflict that occurs due to the reasons I have described above, is peaceful.Those who do not understand this will break up their marriage".(Respondent 06, 47 years old man).
These findings were per findings reported by Scott, Shelby B, et al (2013) (Scott et al., 2013;Whitton et al., 2013).Communication is a broad concept that refers to imparting or exchanging information (van Ruler, 2018).Specifically, the information shared during marital communications could include education, advice, warning, order, raising morale, suggestion, motivation, persuasion, etc. Good communication that facilitates the exchange of this information is a key predictor of relationship satisfaction (Justin A. Lavner Benjamin R. Karney, 2016).Whereas, failing to communicate effectively with a marital partner can lead to marital discord.Correspondingly, marital commitment and satisfaction are known to be closely related (Hou et al., 2019).However, when couples lack commitment (fail to fulfill one's responsibility, have attachment problems, give priority to self-interest, view television portrayals, etc.) their marriage cannot last longer (Osborn, 2012).
The findings of this study reveal that measures such as commitment to one's marital relationship, advanced marital relationship knowledge, and skill, protecting marriage from external stressors, and improving appearance and well-being are important factors to prevent marital dissolution.In line with the findings of the present study, other research findings confirm the importance of commitment to one's marital relationship, in preventing marital dissolution (Stanley et al., 2010).Marital commitments such as remaining faithful to the partner, exercising forgiveness, and attachment might help find time to talk and work on strengthening marital relationships.Observations claimed that marital commitment is an important aspect of marital happiness and satisfaction.Improving marital relationship knowledge and effective communication skills was found to be one of the major measures to preventing marital dissolution.
It has been also suggested that improving appearance and well-being are some of the things that can save a marriage.Couples need to avoid choosing clothes that their partner doesn't want such as wearing sexy or clothes revealing a lot of skin.Correspondingly, other studies also highlighted the link between appearance and dress as a source of information.In other words, what we wear says who we are (Johnson & Schofield, 2002).
Although it is difficult and unimportant to control the choice of clothing, it is suggested to avoid wearing sexy or revealing clothing in public.Undoubtedly, sexuality is one of the gifts that couples will never receive from anyone else.It refers to thoughts, feelings, experiences of attraction, romantic relationships, including sexual intimacy and activity (Macleod & Mccabe, 2020).In addition to the other benefits, sexuality is also known as the key to developing intimacy and making marriage more enjoyable.So, sexual competence enhances marital satisfaction.

CONCLUSION
The present study identified the socioeconomic reasons, communication and commitment problems, external stressors and interference, attitudes and behavioral shifts towards marital relationships, and incompatibility and disparity, as primary reasons for marital dissolution.It also finds a measure that leads to marital success and prevents marital dissolutions that include commitment to one's marital relationship, advancing marital relationship knowledge and skill, protecting marriage from external stressors, and improving appearance and well-being.The findings of this study are helpful for researchers who are working in the field of marital relationships, practitioners/professionals, and officials to set evidence-based planning and implementation.

Table 1 .
) Summary of the socio-demographic characteristics of the study participants expressed as the number and percentage (%).