Predicting marital satisfaction based on attachment styles in married women: the mediating role of sensation seeking

Abstract

The research aimed to determine the prediction of marital satisfaction based on the attachment styles of married women: the mediating role of sensation seeking. The research method was correlational and the statistical population was all married women referring to health centers in the north of Tehran in 2018, which was estimated 1854 people. Using multi-stage random sampling, first, Tehran was divided into four regions: north, west, east and south, and the northern region was selected by lottery. Among the 23 neighborhoods of the 1st and 2nd districts, 4 neighborhoods of Ozgol, Araj, Niavaran, and Bagh Ferdous, and 88 women from each health center and a total of 350 women were selected based on the Sample Power software. Then Enrich's 1989 Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire, Collins and Reed's 1990 Adult Attachment, and Zuckerman's 1978 Sensation Seeking Questionnaire were completed, and the data were analyzed using Smart Plus structural equations. The results showed at the 99% confidence level that the structural model could predict marital satisfaction based on attachment style (β=0.624) with the mediating role of sensation seeking and has a good fit. The direct path of attachment style (β=0.653) and sensation seeking (β=0.594) on marital satisfaction was significant. The indirect path showed that attachment style (β=0.532) with the mediating role of sensation seeking positively affected marital satisfaction. For the cohesion and creation of a desirable marital relationship, it is possible to improve the relationships of couples by knowing the emotions of each couple, the type of attachment style, and the contrast of their inner psychological elements.