Hierarchical Moderated Regression Analysis of Marital Burnout Based on Work–Family Conflict, Emotional Exhaustion, Spousal Support, and Psychological Flexibility

Anahit  Hakobyan; Allison Wong

Authors

Anahit Hakobyan Department of Psychology, Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia Author https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2068-4894
Allison Wong Department of Developmental Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8591-0047

Keywords:

Marital burnout, Work–family conflict, Emotional exhaustion, Spousal support, Psychological flexibility, Moderated regression

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the predictive roles of work–family conflict and emotional exhaustion in marital burnout and to determine whether spousal support and psychological flexibility moderate these associations among married employed adults.

Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among 412 married employed adults residing in Canada. Participants completed standardized measures of marital burnout, work–family conflict, emotional exhaustion, perceived spousal support, and psychological flexibility. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients and hierarchical moderated multiple regression. Demographic and occupational covariates were entered in the first step, work–family conflict and emotional exhaustion in the second step, spousal support and psychological flexibility in the third step, and four interaction terms in the final step. Significant interactions were examined using simple-slope analyses at low, mean, and high levels of the moderators.

Findings: Work–family conflict and emotional exhaustion were significant positive predictors of marital burnout, whereas spousal support and psychological flexibility were significant negative predictors. The final regression model explained 61.1% of the variance in marital burnout, R² = .611, adjusted R² = .598, p < .001. Emotional exhaustion showed the strongest positive association with marital burnout (β = .31, p < .001), followed by work–family conflict (β = .24, p < .001). Spousal support (β = −.21, p < .001) and psychological flexibility (β = −.18, p < .001) were inversely associated with marital burnout. Significant interactions were observed for work–family conflict × spousal support (β = −.12, p = .002), work–family conflict × psychological flexibility (β = −.08, p = .024), emotional exhaustion × spousal support (β = −.07, p = .038), and emotional exhaustion × psychological flexibility (β = −.14, p < .001).

Conclusion: Marital burnout was associated with both occupational-family strain and emotional depletion, while greater spousal support and psychological flexibility were associated with lower burnout and attenuated the strength of these relationships.

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