Parents’ Values, Quality of Their Relationships, and Marital Stability among Married Individuals in Deliverance Churches International-Kenya (DCI-K), Kasarani Sub-County, Nairobi, Kenya

Jacinta Wanjiku Kimani – Pan Africa Christian University, Kenya
Elizabeth W. Kamau – Pan Africa Christian University, Kenya
Wilkins Ndege Muhingi – Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
Email: jkimani.njogu@gmail.com

Abstract: An individual’s experience in early childhood has far-reaching implications on life outcomes in later adulthood, including marital life. This study focused on parental heritage and its impact on the offspring’s marital stability development process. Specifically, the study examined the effect of parents’ values, parent-child relationship, and the quality of parents’ relationships on marital stability on marital stability among married individuals in Deliverance Churches International-Kenya (DCI-K), Kasarani Sub- County – Nairobi, Kenya. The study was conducted among married individuals. Attachment theory was applied to explain the nexus between parental heritage and marital stability. The research took a post-positivist lens and the descriptive research design where a concurrent mixed method was used in data collection. The target population was 10% of the married congregant population of the 22 local church assemblies in Kasarani Sub-County. A total of 340 respondents were selected through a stratified sampling method. Data was collected using a questionnaire and key informant interview guide and analyzed using descriptive statistics in (the SPSS 28.0) version and synthesis of thematic areas from qualitative data. The study revealed a strong positive correlation of 0.7 between parents’ values and marital stability, with a noteworthy p-value of 0.001 indicating a significant influence of parental values. Further, the quality of parents’ relationship also showed a moderately strong correlation with marital stability. This was marked by a coefficient of 0.583 and a p-value of 0.001 underscoring the role of parental relationship quality. The study findings inform the development and enrichment of the parental, marital, and pre-marital programs in churches, institutions, and therapy practices to strengthen families and marriages.