Together, Forever? Correlates of Marital Well-Being

Abstract

This main aim of this paper is to evaluate the predictors of marital instability among married individuals living in Northern Cyprus, by focusing on socio-economic, attitudinal, psychological, and relationship-specific factors. To fulfill this goal, the study analyzes survey data from 496 married individuals living in the major cities of Northern Cyprus. Using logistic regression analyses, this paper specifically considers the role of gender, education, presence of preschool children living in the household, native-born status, marital history, annual household income, depression, gender ideology, marital duration, marital interaction, marital conflict, sexual satisfaction, satisfaction with the division of household labor at home, and overall marital satisfaction. Our results suggest that relationship-specific indicators are the most important correlates of marital instability. Specifically, higher levels of marital satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and less marital conflict are significantly correlated with higher marital stability among married individuals. In addition, those who are in longer marriages also report more stable marriages. Lastly, higher levels of depression and more egalitarian gender ideology are both significantly correlated with less marital stability, but these two effects are modest.