Dr. Stephen Wiw Bichiok
Abstract
Traditional marriage counselling remains an important source of relational guidance in South Sudan, yet its contribution to marital stability operates within rapidly changing social, economic and cultural conditions. This article examines perceived pathways linking traditional counselling to marital outcomes, with particular attention to communication, conflict resolution, trust, social support and relationship satisfaction, while also analysing the contemporary factors that constrain the effectiveness and continuity of indigenous counselling.
The article draws primarily from Objectives 3 and 5 of a mixed-methods, descriptive cross-sectional doctoral study. Two hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed and 242 were returned, yielding a 96.8% response rate. Quantitative evidence showed that poor communication was the most strongly endorsed marital risk factor (M=4.27, SD=1.14), followed by economic difficulties (M=4.06, SD=1.16), limited access to counselling (M=3.90, SD=1.22) and cultural expectations (M=3.86, SD=1.14), while social support was strongly endorsed as beneficial to marital satisfaction (M=4.20, SD=0.96). Open-ended responses associated successful marriage most frequently with respect, communication and trust (48.8%), and identified economic hardship (37.2%), communication problems (29.8%) and infidelity, jealousy or lack of trust (21.9%) as leading sources of conflict. Family interference, dowry and polygamy-related pressures, substance use, violence, trauma and limited counselling support were also reported.
The findings indicate that traditional counselling may support marital stability by creating culturally legitimate settings for dialogue, mediation, accountability, reconciliation and social support. Its effectiveness is nevertheless conditional: social change, unequal authority, weak confidentiality, severe violence, trauma and complex psychological problems can exceed the competence of community-based mechanisms. The article concludes that traditional counselling should be understood as a context-sensitive relational resource rather than as a universal remedy. Strengthening communication, trust and conflict management functions while establishing confidentiality, safeguarding and referral boundaries offers a more defensible route for culturally responsive marriage support in South Sudan.
Download the pdf file Traditional Marriage Counseling and Marital Stability in South Sudan: Pathways through Communication, Conflict Resolution, Trust and Relationship Satisfaction
