Abstract

The pernicious practice identified as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises of various procedures that damage female genitalia for non-therapeutic intentions and is widely considered a human rights violation. Globally, tangled cultural and religious traditions are responsible for perpetuating Female Genital Mutilation. Women continue to be victims of this practice irrespective of their socio-economic status, and irrespective of an ardent worldwide campaign against it. The current empirical investigation into the consequences of FGM is multi-faceted and reveals negative impacts on women physically, psychologically, and psychosexually. This study presents an investigation addressing one significant aim in the current research. The aim of this study is to determine whether FGM versus non-FGM married females in Kenya and Kenyan immigrants in the United States of America vary on relationship characteristics such as relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, intimacy, spousal support, and gender role attitudes. One hundred and thirty six married females between the ages of 18 and 79 completed five different surveys. Among these married women, some women had undergone FGM while some had not. Factorial analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to test study hypotheses. The emerging data illustrated that even though non-significant, there are differences in marital satisfaction between Kenyan locals and Kenyan immigrants in the United States. Based on these findings, implications are suggested for future research in this area for further understanding the impact of female genital mutilation on marriages both in Kenya and the USA.

LLU Discipline

Family Studies

Department

Counseling and Family Sciences

School

School of Behavioral Health

First Advisor

Distelberg, Brian

Second Advisor

Fox, Curtis A.

Third Advisor

Knudson-Martin, Carmen

Fourth Advisor

Muchee, Tabitha

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

January 2013

Date (Title Page)

6-1-2013

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Kenya; Female circumcision; Clitoridectomy; Marital Quality; Interpersonal relations; Satisfaction; Married people - Africa - Kenya

Subject - Local

Female Genital Mutilation; Marital Satisfaction

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

93 p.

Digital Format

Application/PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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