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Effect of Social Media Spiritual and Emotional Abuse Messages on Comprehension and Behavioural Practices of Married Couples in Lagos State, Nigeria

Evidence from media reports affirmed a progressive increase in incidences of domestic violence globally and in Nigeria. Spiritual and emotional abuse which may have negative consequences on the emotional and psychological wellbeing of the victims are existing forms of domestic violence that are taken with levity based on the entrenched religious and patriarchal systems that are perceived as customary in the Nigerian society. The major objective of this study was to to determine the effect of social media spiritual and emotional abuse messages on comprehension and behavioral practices of married couples in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study employed the true-experimental design for randomization of participants into the experimental and control groups. Study population was non-finite and participants were selected using the proportionate, convenience and purposive sampling techniques. Out of the selected 180 couples, 176 met the inclusion criteria set for the research. Using the Self-structured questionnaire, the results showed a significant difference in married couples’ knowledge, comprehension and behavioural practices of spiritual and emotional abuse, before and after the social media intervention. The study concluded that lack of knowledge and comprehension regarding spiritual and emotional abuse is based on dearth of information. This is an indication of intervention effectiveness. Increased inspiring campaigns and programs on social media that will involve married people and the general public in generating contents on spiritual and emotional abuse was recommended. This would induce intentional sourcing for domestic violence information on social media.