THE PARADOX OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN MARRIAGE: LIVED EXPERIENCES OF TEACHERS IN OYO STATE
The importance of marital harmony cannot be overstated when considering its impact on one’s personal life, family life, and social relationships, especially for people who face emotional and psychological challenges in their jobs. In the Nigerian context, economic stresses, job strains, and changing family values have increased conflicts in marriage; however, little is known about how emotional intelligence plays a role in marital life here. This study qualitatively explores the influence of emotional intelligence on marital harmony among secondary school teachers in Oyo State, Nigeria, addressing a gap in context-sensitive, experience-based research. Guided by Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence Theory and Family Systems Theory, the study adopts a phenomenological research design to examine teachers’ lived experiences of emotional awareness, regulation, empathy, and interpersonal communication in marriage. Data were generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews with purposively selected married secondary school teachers and analysed using thematic analysis. Results indicate that emotional intelligence plays a key role in achieving harmony in marriages in that it is an important factor in effective communication, emotional regulation in times of conflict, empathic understanding, and supportiveness between partners. The personal accounts of participants shed light on how occupational stress and cultural expectations can influence emotional response within the context of marriage. This study adds to existing knowledge by emphasising the importance of emotional intelligence in facilitating marital harmony.
Keywords: Communication, Conflict Resolution, Empathy, Relationship Satisfaction, Psychological Well-being