INFLUENCE OF STRESS, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND RELIGIOSITY ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF MARRIED COUPLES IN MAKURDI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract The greater psychological well-being is contributed and enabled by an important factor known as emotional intelligence has been studied in many populations such as secondary school students, athletes, University students and elderly. However, the role of emotional intelligence, stress and religiosity in influencing psychological well-being was limited to other areas of study by previous researchers. This study was an investigation influence of emotional intelligence, stress and religiosity on psychological well-being of couples in Makurdi Local Government of Benue State. The aim of the study was to determine if stress, emotional intelligence and religiosity independently and jointly influence psychological wellbeing among married couples in Makurdi Local Government Council of Benue State. A total of 350 participants were sampled using purposive sampling technique from married couples in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State. Instruments used for data collection were Stress Subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), The Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test, Religious Orientation Scale, and BBC Well-being scale (BBC-WB). Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions on SPSS version 26. Results indicated that stress significantly influenced psychological wellbeing among married couples in Makurdi Local Government Council R = .112, R2 = .013, [F (1,329) = 4.168, P