Marital Instability And Depression Among Public Servants In Cross River State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to establish the relationship between marital instability as a determinant of depression among public servant in cross river state, Nigeria. The study adopted the ex-post fact design. The sample consisted of 500 (429 males 71 female) public servants who were randomly selected from state ministries, schools, boards, and parastatals in the state. A Public Servant Opinion Questionnaire (PSOQ) constructed by the researcher was used for data collection. A null hypothesis was tested in the study using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The findings indicated that marital instability significantly led to some degree of depression. Based on this result, it was concluded that marital instability was a potent and significant factor in explaining the incidence of depression. The major recommendations are that depressed people should be referred to seek the services of social psychologists, clinical psychologists, psychotherapist, family doctors, social agencies and marriage counselors. Also government should help in providing good working conditions for public servant.Global Journal for Educational Research Vol. 6 (1&2) 2007: pp. 39-4