Attitude of Men towards Their Wives' Work Type and its Influence on Marriages in South South, Nigeria: Implications for Guidance and Counseling

This study investigated men’s attitudes toward their wives’ work types and their influence on marital relationships in South-South Nigeria, with implications for guidance and counseling. Two research questions and one null hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted, employing both simple random and purposive sampling techniques to select three South-South states—Rivers, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom—and a sample of 225 married couples from these states. Two instruments, titled *Men’s Attitude Toward Wives’WorkTypeQuestionnaire(MATWWTQ)* and *Influence of Wives’ Work Type on Marriages Questionnaire (IWWTMQ)*, were used for data collection. The reliability of the instruments was established through the testretest method, with Pearson product–moment correlation coefficients of .74 and .79 for the MATWWTQ and IWWTMQ, respectively. Data were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviations for the research questions, while multiple regression analysis tested the null hypothesisatthe.05 level of significance.Findings revealed that men’s attitudes toward their wives’ work types were predominantly egalitarian, expectant egalitarian, and expectant traditional. The study further established a significant influence of men’s attitudes toward their wives’ work types on marital relationships in SouthSouth Nigeria. Based on these findings, it was recommended that men with traditional attitudes be sensitized to current economic realities that challenge the sole breadwinner model, thereby encouraging them to support their wives’ gainful employment and contributions to family stability. In addition, working wives should be counseled on the importanceofbalancingoccupationalresponsibiliti with family and parental roles, while husbands of women engaged in demanding occupations should be encouraged to provide greater domestic support to minimize marital conflicts and enhance family cohesion.