Investigating the Predictors of Marital Satisfaction: The Case of Iranian Women

Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that self-esteem and happiness play significant roles in couples’ levels of marital satisfaction. However, most of these studies findings are from Western countries; thereby, the extent to which these findings are generalizable across different languages and cultures is still an open question. This study aims to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and happiness with marital satisfaction in the sample of Iranian female students to fill this gap. Participants were 250 Iranian female students who completed Rosenberg's self-esteem, Oxford happiness, Pick and Andrade's marital satisfaction questionnaires. The results logistic regression showed that the odds of being satisfied in marriage increased with happiness and self-esteem. Happy individuals with high self-esteem had, respectively, 2.4 and 2.41 times more likely to have marital satisfaction than unhappy individuals with low levels of self-esteem. The demographic variables of participants such as age, number of children, and the length of the relationship did not predict marital satisfaction. The results are discussed in relation to psychological and cultural factors present in self-esteem and marital relationships in Iranian women.