Predicting the Quality of Marital Life: The Role of Mindfulness and Spiritual Experiences

Introduction: Quality of life includes important characteristics, one of which is the quality of marital life. Aim: The present research aimed to predict quality of marital life based on couples commitment, and empathy. Method: This is a descriptive- correlation study. The statistical population consisted of all married students of Islamic Azad University of Qom Branch in the academic year 2019-2020. In the form of a correlation research project, 160 students were selected as the research sample using multistage cluster sampling method. They completed Marital Quality Scale of Basbi et al (1995), Adams & Jones Marital Commitment Scale (1997) and Empathy Scale of Ghorbani et al (2010). Obtained data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis in SPSS-23 software. Results: The results demonstrated that the quality of marital life is predictable based on the commitment of the couple (t=2.870, B=0.218, P<0.005) and there is a positive and significant correlation between these two variables. The quality of marital life is predictable based on the empathy of couples (t=3.849, B=0.292, P<0.001) and there is a positive and significant correlation between these two variables Conclusion: The general conclusion was that the quality of marital life can be predicted based on the commitment and empathy of them. Therefore it is suggested that Couple- therapists should consider these variables and design appropriate programs, based on them, to improve the quality of life of couples.

Background: The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer can profoundly affect women’s marital dynamics, frequently impacting body image, sexual satisfaction, and overall marital quality. This study sought to examine the relationships between marital expectations and body image with marital quality of life in women with breast cancer, with a particular focus on the mediating role of sexual satisfaction in these associations. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design, utilizing path analysis to examine the relationships between key variables, including marital quality of life, marital expectations, body image, and sexual satisfaction. The target population comprised all women with breast cancer attending subspecialty clinics in Ahvaz, Iran, with data collected from January to June 2024. A sample of 161 women with breast cancer was recruited via convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Marital Expectations Questionnaire, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, and Marital Intimacy Questionnaire. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and path analysis. Results: The mean score for marital quality of life was 42.95 (SD, 8.89). The results indicated significant positive direct relationships between marital expectations and sexual satisfaction, body image and sexual satisfaction, body image and marital quality of life, and sexual satisfaction and marital quality of life among women with breast cancer (P<0.001). However, no significant direct relationship was found between marital expectations and the quality of life in marriage. Furthermore, significant indirect relationships were observed between body image and marital quality of life, mediated by sexual satisfaction, and between marital expectations and marital quality of life, mediated by sexual satisfaction (P<0.001). Conclusion: This study highlights the intricate links between marital quality of life, sexual satisfaction, body image, and marital expectations in women with breast cancer, with sexual satisfaction as a key mediator. These insights call for holistic interventions, integrating psychological counseling, body image therapy, and couples’ support, to enhance relational well-being and overall quality of life.

Background and Objective: Nurses are the most important human resources in the health system. Considering nursing stress, emotional and cognitive characteristics play a fundamental role in the quality of marital life of nurses. Therefore, the present study was to predict the quality of marital life based on emotional empathy and sexual satisfaction in married female nurses in Ahvaz. Method: In this descriptive-correlational study, the statistical population of the present study included all married female nurses with children at the Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz in the academic year 2024, of which 253 people were selected as a sample. The tools used included the questionnaires of quality of marital life by Busby et al. (1995), emotional empathy by Tisi et al. (2001), and sexual satisfaction by Hudson et al. (1981). The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression. Findings: The results showed that emotional empathy has a positive and significant relationship with the quality of marital life, and sexual satisfaction also has a positive and significant relationship with the quality of marital life. Emotional empathy and sexual satisfaction predicted 20% of the variance related to the quality of marital life of married female nurses, and emotional empathy had more influence on the quality of marital life of married female nurses. Conclusion: According to the results obtained, attention to empathy and satisfaction regarding the quality of marital life of nurses is felt more than before.

Background and Aim: The levels of premarital interactions strongly affect marital satisfaction and the continuity and quality of marital life after marriage; Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effect of marriage based on social and economic criteria on the satisfaction and quality of married life among married women in Tehran. Method: The present study is an applied research done with a questionnaire and a survey method. The statistical population of this study consists of all married women in Tehran in regions 1, 2, 6, 8, 12, and 384 people were calculated as a sample population through Cochran's formula. Enrich's standard questionnaires of marital satisfaction and quality of life are used in this study. Data analysis was performed in descriptive and inferential, and regression tests and SPSS software were used to test the hypotheses. Results: showed that the variables of education, social relationship, economic status, parenting, and personality traits of the spouse affect the satisfaction and quality of life of couples. Conclusion: As a result, it should be said that just having one condition is not enough to have a good and ideal life, and in order to have a successful, stable, and lasting marital life, one should look at a set of characteristics together and community officials. They should do their best to eliminate disruptive and problematic factors such as poverty, unemployment, and inappropriate norms.

Background and Objective: Many couples face challenges in maintaining healthy relationships, leading to decreased quality of life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based couples therapy in enhancing marital quality of life and emotion regulation among distressed couples. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up period. The population for this research consisted of distressed couples seeking counseling and psychological services at centers and clinics in Ahvaz City during the fall of 2023. Forty-eight of these couples were selected using a convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of 24: an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of ACT-based couples therapy, while the control group received no intervention. Data was collected using marital quality of life and emotion regulation scales. Data analysis was conducted using repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS-25. Results: Results indicated a significant difference between the ACT-based couples therapy group and the control group in terms of marital quality of life and emotion regulation at the post-test (P<0.001). Findings revealed that ACT-based couples therapy led to an increase in marital quality of life and emotion regulation among distressed couples (P<0.001). Conclusions: ACT-based couples therapy was found to be effective in improving marital quality of life and emotion regulation among distressed couples. It is recommended as a potential intervention for couples seeking to address relationship difficulties and enhance their overall satisfaction

Objective: The present study aimed to examine a causal model of marital intimacy, marital commitment, marital quality of life, and divorce tendency among married women in Shiraz. Methods and Materials: This research employed a correlational design within the framework of structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all married women residing in Shiraz during the winter of 2025, from which 250 participants were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Divorce Tendency Questionnaire by Rusbult, Johnson, and Morrow (1986), the Marital Commitment Questionnaire by Adams and Jones (1997), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (1996), and the Marital Intimacy Questionnaire by Walker and Thompson (1983). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 24 and SmartPLS software. Findings: The results of the model analysis indicated that all direct and indirect paths between the variables were significant, and the model demonstrated a good fit. Conclusion: Accordingly, it can be concluded that marital intimacy, marital commitment, and marital quality of life have a significant effect on the divorce tendency of married women.

The objectives of this study were to assess the quality of marital life (QML) in patients with spondyloarthropathy (SpA) in Korea and to identify possible gender differences in QML in patients with SpA. This was a case-control study at the outpatient unit of a tertiary care medical centre. Subjects were the patient group, composed of 47 married patients with SpA, and a comparison group composed of 47 healthy married adults with similar demographic characteristics. QML was measured using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory, Revised. As a result, QML was similar for both the male patients and the healthy men. However, the female patients had higher scores on the global distress scale (59.8 +/- 6.3 vs. 53.8 +/- 5.6, P=0.021) and the aggression scale (50.5 +/- 7.9 vs. 44.3 +/- 5.4, P=0.016) than the female comparison group. At the same time, the female patients demonstrated higher scores on the global distress scale (59.8 +/- 6.3 vs. 54.7 +/- 7.2, P=0.035) than the male patients. In conclusion, QML in Korean males with SpA was not greatly different from that of the male comparison group. However, QML in the female patients was characterised by higher global distress and a higher probability of aggression from their partner, but no significant sexual dissatisfaction.

Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) on marital quality of life and sexual communication intelligence in couples experiencing marital conflicts. Methods: This study was applied in terms of its objective and employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest structure, a two-month follow-up, and a control group for data collection. The statistical population consisted of all couples aged 25 to 40 who had marital conflicts and visited counseling and psychology clinics in District 13 of Tehran in 2023. From this population, 45 couples were selected using purposive sampling. The research instruments included the Sexual Communication Intelligence Questionnaire (Dehkordi et al., 2021) and the Marital Quality of Life Questionnaire (Babci et al., 1995), which were completed by the couples. One group underwent Solution-Focused Therapy in eight 90-minute sessions, while the other group received Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in ten 90-minute sessions. Data analysis was conducted using repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS software. Findings: The results indicated that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy had a positive effect on marital quality of life and sexual communication intelligence. Additionally, Solution-Focused Therapy was also effective in improving these two components (p < .05). Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of both therapeutic approaches—Solution-Focused Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy—on marital quality of life and sexual communication intelligence. A comparison of the two methods revealed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was more effective than Solution-Focused Therapy.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the impact of women’s obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and automatic thoughts on marital quality of life. Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional study included 200 married women residing in District 7 of Tehran. The sample size was determined based on the Morgan and Krejcie table. Data were collected using three standardized tools: the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) for OCD symptoms, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), and the Quality of Marriage Index (QMI) for marital quality of life. Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression were performed using SPSS-27 to assess the relationships between the independent variables (OCD symptoms and automatic thoughts) and the dependent variable (marital quality of life). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Findings: The results revealed a significant negative correlation between OCD symptoms and marital quality of life (r = -0.56, p = 0.003) and between automatic thoughts and marital quality of life (r = -0.62, p = 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis showed that both OCD symptoms (B = -0.42, p = 0.0002) and automatic thoughts (B = -0.56, p = 0.0001) were significant predictors of marital quality of life, accounting for 38% of the variance (R² = 0.38). Conclusion: The findings indicate that OCD symptoms and negative automatic thoughts have a significant detrimental effect on marital quality of life. Automatic thoughts demonstrated a stronger negative influence than OCD symptoms. These results underscore the importance of addressing cognitive and psychological factors in therapeutic interventions aimed at improving marital satisfaction among women.

The purposes of this study were to assess the quality of marital life and to investigate the most serious problem in the marital relationships of Korean spinal cord injured patients. 30 spinal cord injured (SCI) couples (SCI husbands and their non-disabled wives) who were married prior to injury and 30 able-bodied (AB) couples participated in a questionnaire study. The quality of marital life was measured with three parameters: marital stability, marital adjustment, and marital satisfaction. The results were as follows: (1) The marriage of chronic SCI couples was not noticeably unstable when compared with that of AB couples; (2) There was no significant difference in dyadic adjustment and marital satisfaction between SCI couples and AB couples; (3) There was no significant difference in marital stability, marital adjustment, and marital satisfaction between SCI husbands and their wives; (4) SCI couples had more cohesive marital relationships and SCI husbands expressed less affection to their wives than AB husbands and (5) Sex was the most serious problem in marriages of SCI couples. (1) the quality of marital life in chronic SCI couples is not highly different from that of AB couples; (2) There is no significant difference in the quality of marital life between chronic SCI husbands and their non-disabled wives; and (3) It is considered necessary that rehabilitation program for SCI patients should include information on the altered physiology of sexual function of SCI patients and subsequent mutual adaptation to changed sexual function.

BackgroundUnintentional injuries are one of the leading causes of hospitalisation among preschool children in Sri Lanka resulting disability and death. Though majority of unintentional injuries among this age group occur...

Background: Understanding the roles of mindfulness and interpersonal forgiveness is crucial for identifying psychological and relational factors that enhance marital quality of life among university students facing unique stressors in early marriage. Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the predictive roles of mindfulness and interpersonal forgiveness on marital quality of life among university students. Methods: Using a descriptive-correlational design, the study included a sample size of 259 married female students from Islamic Azad University of Shiraz, recruited via convenience sampling in 2024. Data were collected using the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Interpersonal Forgiveness Measurement Questionnaire (IFMQ). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression in SPSS version 26, with a significance level of P < 0.01. Results: Positive correlations were found between mindfulness (r = 0.39) and interpersonal forgiveness (r = 0.60) with marital quality of life (P < 0.01). Together, these variables explained 42% of the variance in marital quality of life, with interpersonal forgiveness showing a stronger predictive effect. Conclusions: Mindfulness and interpersonal forgiveness significantly predict marital quality of life among married female university students, with forgiveness being a key factor. These findings support targeted interventions to enhance marital satisfaction in this population.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of integrative systemic-psychodynamic-behavioral couples therapy on marital quality of life in dysfunctional couples referred to counseling centers in Ahvaz. Methods: The research design was a single-case experimental design. The study population included all dysfunctional couples who visited counseling centers in Ahvaz in 2019. A convenience sampling method was used, selecting three couples with low marital quality of life, who then received integrative systemic-psychodynamic-behavioral couples therapy over 12 sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours. The Perceived Marital Quality Dimensions Questionnaire (Fletcher et al., 2000) was used in this study. To analyze the data, visual analysis, the stability index, and the percentage of improvement were used. Findings: The results showed that the stability index during both the treatment and follow-up phases was significant. The overall percentage of improvement also indicated that the effectiveness of integrative systemic-psychodynamic-behavioral therapy on marital quality of life in dysfunctional couples, based on Blanchard’s classification, fell within the "slight improvement" category during both the treatment and follow-up phases, which generally suggested the success of the intervention in improving marital quality of life in dysfunctional couples. Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that integrative systemic-psychodynamic-behavioral couples therapy can lead to an improvement in marital quality of life.

Family is a social institution and the most important primary group. It is undergoing significant changes in the twenty-first century. The current study attempts to assess the marital quality of life, life satisfaction, and well-being among married couples in rural and urban populations. The study used descriptive design and multistage sampling technique in which 200 respondents were interviewed from the study population. The socio-demographic schedule, marital quality of life, life satisfaction, and general well-being scales were used to collect the data. The results show that one-third (34%) had an overall excellent marital quality life; about half of them either extremely satisfied or satisfied in life satisfaction, and two-third had good well-being. There was a positive correlation between the marital quality of life and well-being, well-being and life satisfaction, and well-being and education. In a changing society, marital quality of life determines life satisfaction and well-being of the married couple. Hence, there is a need to address the marital quality of life to keep the families intact.

BACKGROUND Marital satisfaction can be defined as the attitude a person has toward his or her marital relationship. Sexual life quality is considered as one of the cornerstones in the quality and continuity marital relationships. OBJECTIVE This paper outlines a protocol for an experimental study which compares the effectiveness of group-based online marital relationship enrichment interventions called ‘my soul’ and ‘self-care’ for adult men. METHODS A randomized controlled trial with pre-test, four and 12-week follow-up is proposed. A total of 100 participants will be randomly assigned to two parallel conditions including my soul and self-care group. The training sessions for the “my soul” group focus on the core components of marital enhancement such as the importance of skills teaching in marital relationships, establishing effective communication, physiology, anatomy and function of sexual, and reproductive organs, skills in sexual relationships, and sexual health. Regarding the self-care group, the sessions will be focused on 1) education in marital relationships, different cycles, behavioral patterns, recognizing relationship problems, 2) identifying communication problems (not paying attention to feelings, inappropriate behavior, financial conflicts), how to handle arguments, concluding a treatment contract, 3) recognizing unrealistic beliefs and expectations, productive and unproductive behaviors, and overcoming old habits, 4) recognizing thoughts and emotions and interactive cycles, breaking the cycle of negative thoughts, how to express requests with emotions, 5) keeping love and dynamics alive in the relationship, understanding women and men (differences and similarities), and 6) answering common questions about marital life. The sexually related competencies and the quality of marital life will be measured at three different times. RESULTS This is the first evidence-based local study to examine a culturally tailored marital life enhancement intervention for adult males and fill a research gap in the existing interventions. The results can provide new knowledge for a group-based intervention and be considered for adults in Iran and different parts of the world. This trial will evaluate the effectiveness of “my soul” and “self-care” marital relationship enrichment packages tailored to the quality of marital life and sexual behaviors of adult men. The results can be presented to policymakers, decision-makers, and health providers for implementation at a national level. CONCLUSIONS This is the first evidence-based local study to examine a culturally tailored marital life enhancement intervention for adult males and fill a research gap in the existing interventions. The results can provide new knowledge for a group-based intervention and be considered for adults in Iran and different parts of the world. This trial will evaluate the effectiveness of “my soul” and “self-care” marital relationship enrichment packages tailored to the quality of marital life and sexual behaviors of adult men. The results can be presented to policymakers, decision-makers, and health providers for implementation at a national level. CLINICALTRIAL (Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) number): IRCT 20220418054583N1 Date of registration: September 17,2022.