Happiness as a Significant Predictor of Women’s Marital Satisfaction

Abstract

Introduction: Marital satisfaction promotes family and public health and its stability. Different factors may contribute to marital satisfaction. This study aimed to predict women’s marital satisfaction based on their happiness. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 on 379 married women, with eligibility criteria, who referred to comprehensive healthcare centers in Shahroud, Iran. Sampling was done through cluster and simple random sampling. Data gathering tools were a researcher-made demographic questionnaire, the Oxford Happiness Index, and the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale. Data were analyzed through the independent-sample t test, the one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis, and the multiple linear regression models with the Stepwise method. P values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The mean scores of marital satisfaction and happiness were 164.68±28.33 and 45.11±14.40 respectively. In univariate analysis, women’s marital satisfaction had significant relationships with their age, educational status, place of residence, economic status, having close friends, significant stressful life events during the past six months, and happiness, along with their husband’s age, educational status, and employment status (all of them p≤0.05). In second step of analyses, happiness, marriage duration, serious stressful life events during the past six months, and husband’s educational status were the significant predictors of marital satisfaction(F =73.74; R2=0.497; and P< 0.001). As the most significant predictor, happiness explained almost 43.8% of the total variance of marital satisfaction. Conclusion: Public education programs on happy living and stress management are necessary to improve women’s marital satisfaction.