Explanation model marital satisfaction based on marital quality and positive psychological states: The Mediating Role of Lovemaking Styles Among the educators of Marivan city

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 University of Kurdistan

2 The University of Kordestan

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between marital satisfaction, marital quality, and positive psychological states, with a focus on the mediating role of love styles. This research adopts a quantitative methodology and has practical applications, employing an equation model type correlation method. The statistical population of this study comprises all educators in Marivan city from 2001 to 2022, from which 350 participants were selected using simple random sampling and Cochran's sample size formula. Data were collected using the Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (ENRICH) by Olson (1989), the Positive Psychological States Questionnaire (PPS) by Rajaei et al. (2012), the Revised Marital Quality Questionnaire (RDAS) by Busby et al. (1995), and the Sternberg Love Style Questionnaire (STLS) by Sternberg (1986).This study utilized AMOS-24 software to analyze data and test hypotheses based on a correlation matrix and path model. The findings of this research indicate that the quality of marriage has a strong predictive power for changes in love styles, with a correlation coefficient of 0.79. Furthermore, positive psychological states are also positively correlated with changes in love styles (r = 0.09, p < 0.04), although this effect is weaker than the relationship between marriage quality and love styles. Importantly, love styles have a significant positive and meaningful mediating role between marital quality and marital satisfaction, with a mediation rate of 0.55%.On the one hand, love styles with a rate of 0.08 are unlikely to play a meaningful mediating role between psychological structures and marital satisfaction in couples

Keywords


 
Agus, M., Puddu, L., & Raffagnino, R. (2021). Exploring the Similarity of Partners’ Love Styles and Their Relationships With Marital Satisfaction: A Dyadic Approach. SAGE Open, 11(4), 1-9.
Alpert, E. R. (2022). The relationship people: Mediating love and marriage in twenty-first century Japan. Rowman & Littlefield.‏
Barros, R. D. S. N., Soares, A. B., & Hernandez, J. A. E. (2019). Social skills, empathy, love, and satisfaction in the family life cycle. Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 36, 1-11.
Black-Kutner, R. (2020). Self-Acceptance, Partner-Acceptance, and Forgiveness Relating to Marital Satisfaction. Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology Hofstra University Hempstead, N.Y.
Busby. D. M., Crane. D. R., Larson. J. H., & Christensen. C. (1995). A revision of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale for use with distressed and nondistressed couples: Construct Hierarchy and multidimensional scale. Journal of Marital and family therapy, 21, 289-308.
Cassepp-Borges, V. (2021). Should I stay or should I go? Relationship satisfaction, love, love styles and religion compatibility predicting the fate of relationships. Sexuality & Culture, 25(3), 871-883.‏
Cassepp-Borges, V., & Pasquali, L. (2012). Sternberg’s Triangular Love Scale national study of psychometric attributes. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto)22, 21-31.‏
Crabtree, S. A., Harris, S. M., Bell, N. K., Allen, S., & Roberts, K. M. (2018). The roles of love and happiness in divorce decision making. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 59(8), 601–615.
Fajri, A. A., & Widiyarta, A. (2024). The Effectiveness 0f Employee Performance in Marriage Registration Services at the Religious Affairs Office of Pare District, Kediri Regency. Jurnal Impresi Indonesia, 3(4), 290-301.‏
Fastame, M. C. (2021). Life satisfaction in late adult span: the contribution of family relationships, health self-perception and physical activity. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 33(6), 1693-1698.‏
Gana, K., Saada, Y., & Untas, A. (2013). Effects of love styles on marital satisfaction in heterosexual couples: A dyadic approach. Marriage & Family Review, 49(8), 754-772.
Goldfarb, M. R., & Trudel, G. (2019). Marital quality and depression: a review. Marriage & Family Review, 55(8), 737-763.‏
Gomes, M., Vasconcelos-Raposo, J., & Teixeira, C. M. (2021). The impact of technology usage on love and intimacy satisfaction among Portuguese adults. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 4, 1-6.‏
Gratzke, M. (2017). Love is what people say it is: Performativity and narrativity in critical love studies. Journal of Popular Romance Studies.
Grover, S. & Helliwell, J.F. (2019). How’s Life at Home? New Evidence on Marriage and the Set Point for Happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(2), 373-390.
Halpern, D., & Katz, J. (2017). Texting’s consequences for romantic relationships: A cross-lagged analysis highlights its risks. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 386–394.
Hollist, C. S., & Miller, R. B. (2005). Perceptions of attachment style and marital quality in midlife marriage. Family Relations54(1), 46-57.‏
Kansky, J. (2018). What’s love got to do with it? Romantic relationships and well-being. Handbook of well-being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers.‏
Karandashev, V. (2019). Cross-cultural perspectives on the experience and expression of love (pp. 83-98). Cham: Springer International Publishing.‏
Kim, H. E., Eom, H., Jo, H. J., Kim, M. K., Kim, J., & Kim, J. J. (2024). Neural substrates of marriage on self-parents processing and the association with a parents-oriented perspective shift in a collectivistic culture. Biological Psychology, 108768.‏
Knapp, S. J., & Lott, B. (2010). Forming the central framework for a science of marital quality: An interpretive alternative to marital satisfaction as a proxy for marital quality. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 2(4), 316-333.‏
Li, X., Cao, H., Curran, M. A., Fang, X., & Zhou, N. (2020). Traditional gender ideology, work family conflict, and marital quality among Chinese dual-earner couples: A moderated mediation model. Sex Roles, 83(9), 622-635.‏
Liu, H., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, Y. (2021). A national longitudinal study of marital quality and cognitive decline among older men and women. Social Science & Medicine, 282, 114151.‏
Luthans, F., & Jensen, S. M. (2002). Hope: A new positive strength for human resource development. Human resource development review1(3), 304-322.‏
Mayer, C. H., & Vanderheiden, E. (2021). Voicing the Stories of Love across Cultures: An Introduction. In International Handbook of Love (pp. 3-21). Springer, Cham.‏ development. Münster: Waxmann
Merino, M. D., & Privado, J. (2020). Is love triarchic or monarchical-hierarchical? A proposal of a general factor of love and a scale to measure it. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 23, 1-12.
Mitchell, B. A. (2016). Happily ever after? Marital satisfaction during the middle adulthood years. In J. Bookwala (Ed.), Couple relationships in the middle and later years: Their nature, complexity, and role in health and illness (p. 17–36). American Psychological Association.
Neugarten, B.L., Havighurst, R.J., Tobin, S.S. (1961). The measurement of life satisfaction. Journal J Gerontol, 16 134-143.
Olson, D. (1983). Circumflex Model of Marital and Family Systems: VI. Theoretical Update. Family Process, 22, 69-83.
Otero, M. C., Wells, J. L., Chen, K. H., Brown, C. L., Connelly, D. E., Levenson, R. W., Fredrickson, B. L. (2020). Behavioral indices of positivity resonance associated with long-term marital satisfaction. Emotion, 20(7), 1225-1233.
Ouyang, Y. Q., Zhou, W. B., Xiong, Z. F., Wang, R., & Redding, S. R. (2019). A web-based survey of marital quality and job satisfaction among Chinese nurses. Asian Nursing Research, 13(3), 216-220.‏
Pan, L., Li, L., Peng, H., Fan, L., Liao, J., Wang, M & Zhang, Y. (2022). Association of depressive symptoms with marital status among the middle-aged and elderly in Rural China–Serial mediating effects of sleep time, pain and life satisfaction. Journal of Affective Disorders, 303, 52-57.
Peng, Y., & Wang, Z. (2020). Marital quality and children’s prospective internalizing problems: A moderated mediation model. Children and Youth Services Review, 119, 105656.‏
Raffagnino, R., & Puddu, L. (2018). Love styles in couple relationships: a literature review. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 6(12), 307-330.‏
Roberts, J., & David, M. (2016). My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone: Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners.Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 134–141
Sayın, M., Demir, İ. H., & Ekşi, F. (2019). The relationship of marital satisfaction and life satisfaction with spiritual orientation: The mediating role of sacrifice and sensitivity. Spiritual Psychology and Counseling, 4(3), 237-256.‏
Seligman, M. E. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. New York: Simon and Schuster.‏
Sierra-Swiech, R., Patrick, S., Britton, R., Tadros, E., & Can, A. (2024). Grace, Self-Compassion, and Compassion: Influential Factors in Marital Satisfaction. The Family Journal, 32(1), 48-55.‏
Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., Karwowski, M., Groyecka, A., Aavik, T., Akello, G., & Sternberg, R. J. (2021). Universality of the triangular theory of love: adaptation and psychometric properties of the triangular love scale in 25 countries. The Journal of Sex Research58(1), 106-115.‏
Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychology Review, 93, 119-135.
Surijah & Kirana Kim, M., Kim, A. C. H., Newman, J. I., Ferris, G. R., & Perrewé, P. L. (2019). The antecedents and consequences of positive organizational behavior: The role of psychological capital for promoting employee well-being in sport organizations. Sport Management Review, 22(1), 108-125.‏
Surijah, E. A., Prasetyaningsih, N. M. M., & Supriyadi, S. (2020). Popular psychology versus scientific evidence: Love languages’ factor structure and connection to marital satisfaction. Psympathic: Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi, 7(2), 155-168.‏
Tjeltveit, A. (2006). Psychology’s love-hate relationship with love: Critiques, affirmations, and Christian responses. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 34(1), 8-22.
Wahyuningsih, H., Kusumaningrum, F. A., & Novitasari, R. (2020). Parental marital quality and adolescent psychological well-being: A meta-analysis. Cogent Psychology, 7(1), 1-14.‏
Wang, W., Wang, M., Hu, Q., Wang, P., Lei, L., & Jiang, S. (2020). Upward social comparison on mobile social media and depression: The mediating role of envy and the moderating role of marital quality. Journal of Affective Disorders, 270, 143-149.‏
Yoo, G., & Joo, S. (2021). Love for a Marriage Story: The Association Between Love and Marital Satisfaction in Middle Adulthood. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1-12.‏