Higher Levels Of Marital Satisfaction Research Articles

Promoting the forgiveness in fremarital counseling as a cay to get a successful marriage

Forgiveness is capable to create a change in cognitions, emotions, and behaviors toward somebody who committed a hurtful act, it can be a useful tool for counselor to deal with client’s problems including marital issues. One of the major issues in marriage is divorce. Meanwhile, the previous studies proved those individuals who experienced premarital counseling gained a high level of marital satisfaction. This article literately reviews how forgiveness can be used as a main topic in premarital counseling as an effort to achieve a successful marriage

Quantifying the Sexual Afterglow: The Lingering Benefits of Sex and Their Implications for Pair-Bonded Relationships

Sex presumably facilitates pair bonding, but how do partners remain pair-bonded between sexual acts? Evolutionary perspectives suggest that sexual afterglow serves this purpose. We explored how long sexual satisfaction would remain elevated following sex and predicted that stronger sexual afterglow would characterize more satisfying partnerships. We pooled the data from two independent, longitudinal studies of newlywed couples to examine these issues. Spouses reported their daily sexual activity and sexual satisfaction for 14 days and their marital satisfaction at baseline and 4 or 6 months later. Results demonstrated that sexual satisfaction remained elevated approximately 48 hr after sex, and spouses experiencing a stronger afterglow reported higher levels of marital satisfaction both at baseline and over time. We interpret these findings as evidence that sexual afterglow is a proximal cognitive mechanism through which sex promotes pair bonding.

The Marital Satisfaction of Differently-Aged Couples

We investigate how the marital age gap affects the evolution of marital satisfaction over the duration of marriage using household panel data from Australia. We find that men tend to be more satisfied with younger wives and less satisfied with older wives. Interestingly, women likewise tend to be more satisfied with younger husbands and less satisfied with older husbands. Marital satisfaction declines with marital duration for both men and women in differently-aged couples relative to those in similarly-aged couples. These relative declines erase the initial higher levels of marital satisfaction experienced by men married to younger wives and women married to younger husbands within 6 to 10 years of marriage. A possible mechanism is that differently-aged couples are less resilient to negative shocks compared to similarly-aged couples, which we find some supportive evidence for.

Activity Restriction and Depressive Symptoms in Older Couples.

The present study aimed to clarify the circumstances under which activity restriction (AR) is associated with depressive symptoms among patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and their spouses. A total of 220 older adults with OA and their caregiving spouses participated in the study. The actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was used to examine the associations between AR stemming from patients' OA and the depressive symptoms of patients and spouses. The potential moderating role of marital satisfaction also was examined. After accounting for pain severity, health, and life stress of both patients with OA and spouses, higher AR was associated with more depressive symptoms for both patients and spouses. In regard to partner effects, patients whose spouse had higher AR reported more depressive symptoms. In addition, the association of spouses' and patients' AR and their own depressive symptoms was moderated by their marital satisfaction. For both patients and spouses, the associations between their own AR and depressive symptoms were weaker for those with higher levels of marital satisfaction compared with those with lower levels of marital satisfaction. This pattern of findings highlights the dyadic implications of AR and the vital role of marital satisfaction in the context of chronic illness.

Relationship between Marital Satisfaction and Mental Health of Married Women Referring to Health Centers in Sanandaj, Iran in 2014

BACKGROUND: As the most splendid social custom to attain security and emotional needs of adults, marriage has always won the approval of the community as a whole. In this regard, the endeavors of couples to preserve their relationships and achieve higher levels of marital satisfaction have been of great significance. As a component of personal characteristics, mental health has always been associated with marital satisfaction. This study investigated the relationship between marital satisfaction and mental health of married women referred to health centers in Sanandaj, Iran in 2014.METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 393 women referring to the health centers in Sanandaj, Iran who were selected randomly in 2014. Data collection tool were ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), which was completed by the participants in the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16, descriptive, and analytical statistics.RESULTS: The results indicated that most of the patients were between 35-26 years, did not complete secondary school, were housewives, had only one child, and were married for 10 years. Most of the participants enjoyed marital satisfaction and had good mental health. There was a significant relationship between mental health and marital satisfaction (p<0.001). In terms of mental health, depression and marital satisfaction had the most significant negative correlation (p<0.001). However, there were no statistically significant relationship between female’s education and their employment with marital satisfaction and mental health.CONCLUSION: According to the findings of our study, in terms of the relationship between mental health and marital satisfaction, solving marital problems and increasing couples’ satisfaction can lead to the promotion of their mental health, leading to the increase in the health status of families and society a whole; hence, the significant role of family counseling centers.

Beyond the average marital communication: Latent profiles of the observed interactions among Chinese newlywed couples.

Employing a multicontext observational design, using a person-centered approach, and treating the marital dyad as the unit of analysis, this study examined the within-couple communication patterning of 144 Chinese newlywed couples and its association with relationship satisfaction. Latent profile analysis consistently revealed 3 profiles of spouses' interactive behaviors across contexts differing in both topic nature (i.e., problem-solving vs. social support) and initiator (i.e., husbands vs. wives): (a) traditionally undemonstrative profile, (b) emotionally quarrelling profile, and (c) warmly supportive profile. The prevalence of communication profiles changed markedly with the nature of the discussion topic and the topic initiator. Further, using latent class analysis, we classified couples into subgroups based on their identified profile memberships across contexts (i.e., consistency of interaction mode across contexts). Three classes were identified: (a) consistently quarrelling class, (b) consistently supportive class, and (c) modestly traditional class. Both the consistently supportive class and the modestly traditional class reported significantly higher levels of marital satisfaction than did the consistently quarrelling class.

Longitudinal Associations Among Relationship Satisfaction, Sexual Satisfaction, and Frequency of Sex in Early Marriage.

The current research used two 8-wave longitudinal studies spanning the first 4-5 years of 207 marriages to examine the potential bidirectional associations among marital satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and frequency of sex. All three variables declined over time, though the rate of decline in each variable became increasingly less steep. Controlling for these changes, own marital and sexual satisfaction were bidirectionally positively associated with one another; higher levels of marital satisfaction at one wave of assessment predicted more positive changes in sexual satisfaction from that assessment to the next and higher levels of sexual satisfaction at one wave of assessment predicted more positive changes in marital satisfaction from that assessment to the next. Likewise, own sexual satisfaction and frequency of sex were bidirectionally positively associated with one another. Additionally, partner sexual satisfaction positively predicted changes in frequency of sex and own sexual satisfaction among husbands, yet partner marital satisfaction negatively predicted changes in both frequency of sex and own sexual satisfaction. Controlling these associations, marital satisfaction did not directly predict changes in frequency of sex or vice versa. Only the association between partner sexual satisfaction and changes in own sexual satisfaction varied across men and women and none of the key effects varied across the studies. These findings suggest that sexual and relationship satisfaction are intricately intertwined and thus that interventions to treat and prevent marital distress may benefit by targeting the sexual relationship and interventions to treat and prevent sexual distress in marriage may benefit by targeting the marital relationship.

Together, Forever? Correlates of Marital Well-Being

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.

Couples and breast cancer: women's mood and partners' marital satisfaction predicting support perception.

Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer can experience an array of psychosocial difficulties; however, social support, particularly from a spouse, has been shown to have a protective function during this time. This study examined the ways in which a woman's daily mood, pain, and fatigue, and her spouse's marital satisfaction predict the woman's report of partner support in the context of breast cancer. Pretest data from a larger intervention study and multilevel modeling were used to examine the effects of women's daily mood, pain, and fatigue and average levels of mood, pain, and fatigue on women's report of social support received from her partner, as well as how the effects of mood interacted with partners' marital satisfaction. Results show that on days in which women reported higher levels of negative or positive mood, as well as on days they reported more pain and fatigue, they reported receiving more support. Women who, on average, reported higher levels of positive mood tended to report receiving more support than those who, on average, reported lower positive mood. However, average levels of negative mood were not associated with support. Higher average levels of fatigue but not pain were associated with higher support. Finally, women whose husbands reported higher levels of marital satisfaction reported receiving more partner support, but husbands' marital satisfaction did not moderate the effect of women's mood on support. Implications of these findings are discussed relative to assisting couples during this difficult time in their lives.

FAKTOR DEMOGRAFI, KONFLIK KERJA-KELUARGA, DAN KEPUASAN PERKAWINAN ISTRI BEKERJA

Marital satisfaction is an essential element for successful family life and personal growth. The women’s engagement in the employment sector and their dual role as breadwinner and the care taker of family has significant correlation with the marital satisfaction. This study aimed to ascertain marital satisfaction based on demographic factors and to analyze the influences of work-family conflict on marital satisfaction. The study was a cross sectional design. Samples were selected by using non-proportional stratified random sampling technique atDistrict of West and Central Bogor. There 120 families were randomly chosen among dual earner families in study sites. Findings showed that one of two family (54,2%) had moderate level of work-family conflict and one of three family (39,2%) had high level of marital satisfaction. The result confirmed that marital satisfaction was negatively influenced by work to family conflict. It means lower work to family conflict experienced by the family will higher the marital satisfaction. Demographic factor that influenced marital satisfaction was education attainment. This study is expected that family is able to organize a balancing strategy between the workplace roles and the household roles to be more satisfied about their marriage.

Marital satisfaction and depression among couples following men's acute coronary syndrome: Testing dyadic dynamics in a longitudinal design

The current study examined the contribution of marital satisfaction to symptoms of depression among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and their partners. The sample comprised of 91 ACS male patients and their female partners. Data were collected at the time of initial hospitalization and 6months later. Patients' and partners' assessments of marital satisfaction were measured using the ENRICH scale. Symptoms of depression were measured using the Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI). Dyadic analysis applying the Actor-Partner Inter-dependence Model (APIM) was used. Different patterns emerged for the two phases. In the acute phase, only the Actor effect was significant: for both patients and partners, one's greater marital satisfaction was associated with one's lower levels of depression. In the chronic phase, both Actor and Partner effects were significant, while different trends were found for patients and partners. Partners' marital satisfaction was associated with their own and the patients' decreased depression symptoms, whereas among patients, higher levels of marital satisfaction were associated with elevated levels of depression both for themselves and for their partners. A dyadic perspective and phases of illness have to be taken into account in understanding adjustment and developing interventions following ACS. What is already known on this subject? The contribution of marital satisfaction to psychological adjustment following cardiac illness has been explored, but mainly from the perspective of one partner only. Different phases of an illness present different challenges for both patients and family members. What does this study add? A dyadic perspective on recovery from cardiac illness. The partner's contribution during the different phases of the illness.

Marital satisfaction, job satisfaction and psychological health of secondary school teachers

Introduction: Marital satisfaction has remained a topic of great interest worldwide. Association has been postulated between marital satisfaction, job satisfaction and mental health. There is, however, a paucity of research on marital satisfaction in Nigeria, particularly in relation to job satisfaction and psychological health. Objective: The objective of this study is thus to assess the level of marital satisfaction and to explore the relationship if any between marital satisfaction, job satisfaction and mental health of secondary school teachers in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on teachers in secondary schools in Benin City, Nigeria. A total population of 300 teachers who had been married and teaching for at least one year were included in the study. The information required for the study were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and two standard instruments, the Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS) and the General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ 28). The GHQ was used to assess the workers psychological health, while the IMS was used to assess the degree of marital satisfaction. Results: Two hundred and fifteen (82.7%) teachers had marital satisfaction, 54 (20.8%) had psychological disorder while 56 (21.5%) were dissatisfied with their job. A strong association was found between marital dissatisfaction and psychological disorder (X2 = 56.826; df = 1, P = 0.0004). No association was found between marital dissatisfaction and job dissatisfaction. No association was also found between job dissatisfaction and psychological disorder. Conclusion: A high level of marital satisfaction was found in the study population. However, the strong association also found between marital dissatisfaction and psychological disorder provides empirical evidence on the need to educate married couples as well as the general public on the mental health implication of marital dissatisfaction.

Quality of Life During Orthopaedic Training and Academic Practice

Orthopaedic residents and attending physicians who report having a supportive spouse show lower levels of burnout and psychological distress than those without supportive spouses. However, little is known about the experiences of the spouses. This nationwide study examines burnout, psychological distress, and marital satisfaction of the spouses and significant others (collectively referred to hereafter as spouses) of orthopaedists in training and in orthopaedic practice in an academic setting. Employing previously reported methodology, 259 spouses of orthopaedic residents and 169 spouses of full-time orthopaedic faculty completed a voluntary, anonymous survey. The survey included three validated instruments (the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the General Psychological Health Questionnaire-12, and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale) and three novel question sets addressing demographic information, relationship issues, stress, and work/life balance. Psychological distress was noted in 18% of resident spouses compared with only 10% of faculty spouses (p = 0.014). Resident spouses reported greater loneliness (p < 0.0009) and stress (p = 0.03) than faculty spouses. Among working spouses, 30% of resident spouses and 13% of faculty spouses showed high levels of emotional exhaustion (p < 0.003). Twenty-eight percent of employed resident spouses and 5% of employed faculty spouses showed problematic levels of depersonalization (p < 0.0001). Twenty-six percent of employed resident spouses and 12% of employed faculty spouses showed a diminished sense of personal accomplishment (p = 0.012). Marital satisfaction was high for both resident and faculty spouses. Decreased satisfaction correlated with excessive mate irritability and fatigue that precluded their mate's involvement in family activities. A gratifying sex life, full-time work outside the home, and spending more than ninety minutes a day with their mate correlated significantly with marital satisfaction. Many orthopaedic resident spouses showed elevated levels of burnout, and a substantial number showed psychological distress. Spouses of orthopaedic faculty surgeons showed low rates of burnout and psychological distress. While both resident and faculty spouses reported high levels of marital satisfaction, the engagement of their surgeon mates had a considerable impact on the well-being of the relationship.

취업주부의 역할 만족도와 역할 긴장도가 결혼만족도에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of role satisfaction and role strain of employed wives on their marital satisfaction. Data were collected from 297 employed wives who are also mothers and reside in the city of Seoul and the province of Gyeonggi-do. Our findings are also as follows: First, employed wives showed a relatively high level of marital satisfaction. Second, when employed wives experienced less role strain, they experienced more role satisfaction. At the same time, when employed wives experienced greater role satisfaction, they also experienced greater marital satisfaction. It was also found that when employed wives experienced greater role strain they experienced less marital satisfaction. Third, our analysis partially confirmed that there were only three variables that significantly affected marital satisfaction; the age of the employed wife, the level of role satisfaction and the level of role strain.

Relationships between soldiers' PTSD symptoms and spousal communication during deployment

Social support, including support from spouses, may buffer against posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The current study assessed whether the frequency of spousal communication during a recent deployment, a potentially important source of support for soldiers, was related to postdeployment PTSD symptoms. Data came from 193 married male Army soldiers who returned from military deployment within the past year. For communication modalities conceptualized as delayed (i.e., letters, care packages, and e-mails), greater spousal communication frequency during deployment was associated with lower postdeployment PTSD symptom scores, but only at higher levels of marital satisfaction (p = .009). At lower marital satisfaction, more delayed spousal communication during deployment was associated with more PTSD symptoms (p = .042). For communication modalities conceptualized as interactive (i.e., phone calls, instant messaging, instant messaging with video), the same general direction of effects was seen, but the interaction between communication frequency and marital satisfaction predicting PTSD symptoms did not reach significance.

Personality trait levels within older couples and between-spouse trait differences as predictors of marital satisfaction

In this study of 125 older couples married for an average of 34 years, multilevel models were computed to simultaneously examine intra-couple personality trait averages and between-spouse trait similarity as predictors of marital satisfaction. Our findings suggest that higher intra-couple levels of extraversion predict marital satisfaction, both husbands and wives. In addition, between-spouse similarity in openness to experience appears associated with higher levels of marital satisfaction as reported by husbands; concomitantly, between-spouse similarity in agreeableness predicts wives’ marital satisfaction. With respect to openness (husbands) and agreeableness (wives), it did not matter which spouse within couples reported higher or lower trait levels. The most notable finding to emerge from this study is that neuroticism is not associated with marital satisfaction, neither husbands nor wives. This result stands in contrast to previously reported findings – the vast majority of prior research conducted with dating and newlywed couples. Conflicting results may reflect the degree to which neuroticism determines divorce within the first years of married life, adaptation to the foibles of one's spouse over time, overreliance on younger samples in marriage and family research, or some combination of these alternate explanations.

Provider role attitudes, marital satisfaction, role overload, and housework: A dyadic approach.

Treating the marital dyad as the unit of analysis, this study examined the within-couple patterning of 272 dual-earner spouses' provider role attitudes and their longitudinal associations with marital satisfaction, role overload, and the division of housework. Based on the congruence of husbands' and wives' provider role attitudes, couples were classified into one of four types: (a) main-secondary, (b) coprovider, (c) ambivalent coprovider, and (d) mismatched couples. Nearly half of all spouses differed in their attitudes about breadwinning. A series of mixed model ANCOVAs revealed significant between- and within-couple differences in human capital characteristics, spouses' perceptions of marital satisfaction and role overload, and the division of housework across 3 years of measurement. Coprovider couples reported higher levels of marital satisfaction and a more equitable division of housework than the other couple groups. Wives in the ambivalent coprovider couples' group reported higher levels of role overload than their husbands to a greater extent than was found in the other couple groups. As the first study to adopt a dyadic approach that considers the meanings that both spouses in dual-earner couples ascribe to paid employment, these findings advance understanding of how dual-earner spouses' provider role attitudes serve as contexts for marital quality, behavior, and role-related stress.

Korean Pastors and Their Wives’ Marital Satisfaction and Its Predicting Factors

This study examined to what extent Korean pastors and their wives in America were satisfied with their marital lives. It also investigated how selected factors predicted marital satisfaction among Korean pastors and their wives: communication, expression of affection, empathy, sexual satisfaction, and doing things together. Eighty-five pastors and 79 pastors’ wives (n = 164) participated in this study, and they were separately measured. The Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMSS) and Lee’s Marital Inventory (LMI) were utilized. The results found that the participants showed a high level of marital satisfaction. For Korean pastors, expression of affection and doing things together were significant predictors for marital satisfaction while only expression of affection was the significant predictor for the marital satisfaction of pastors’ wives.

The experience and expression of anger, guilt, and sadness in marriage: An equity theory explanation

This study examines how expressions of anger, guilt, and sadness are related to (in)equity and marital satisfaction. Data from 92 couples demonstrated that being overbenefited was positively associated with guilt, whereas being underbenefited was positively associated with anger. For wives, being underbenefited was also positively associated with sadness. Results also revealed that (i) people who perceived equity reported using more constructive, prosocial emotional expressions, (ii) underbenefited people reported using more destructive, antisocial emotional expression, and (iii) overbenefited people reported using both prosocial and antisocial emotional expressions. Both husbands and wives reported higher levels of marital satisfaction when they perceived themselves to be treated equitably or to be overbenefited as compared to underbenefited. Results also suggested that angry feelings and aggressive expressions of anger mediated the relation between underbenefiting inequity and martial satisfaction, and that the way people express anger mediated the relationship between anger and marital satisfaction.

Longitudinal prediction of early childhood discipline styles among heavy drinking parents

This study sought to examine predictors of parenting trajectories in a sample of heavy drinking and abstaining/light drinking parents. Mixture modeling was used to estimate trajectories of parental discipline styles over time. Two dimensions of parenting were examined: laxness and overreactivity. Changes in these dimensions were examined for each parent. Trajectories for mothers and fathers were very similar and were generally stable from 18 months to 5–6 years child age. Fathers' binge drinking was associated with high levels of both paternal and maternal overreactivity. Mothers with depressed affect had the highest levels of overreactivity, whereas fathers reporting depressed affect were more likely to have moderate levels of laxness. Mothers with high levels of marital satisfaction were more likely to have partners in the stable low overreactivity group. Findings begin to elucidate the nature of early family processes that may contribute to maladaptive child outcomes in heavy drinking families.