Socio-demographic Determinants of Marital Satisfaction among an Iranian Population

Background: There is lack of Iranian studies on marital satisfaction which is one of the important factors in the stability of marriage. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of socio-demographic variables on marital satisfaction. Methods: This Analytical and  cross-sectional study was conducted on 770 married people from Gonabad city, Northeast of Iran. Simple random sampling was used. ENRICH marital satisfaction scale was used to measure marital satisfaction as a dependent variable with cut-off of 100. The higher score was defined as satisfied. Logistic regression model was used to examine the effects of the variables on marital satisfaction. Results: The average age of the participants was 39.2±10.6.  The most of the participants (75%) were categorized as satisfied with a mean score of 113.9±26.8. Both univariate and multiple regression analyses showed a strong significant relationship between economic situation and marital satisfaction, that is better economic situation increased the odds of marital satisfaction. After controlling other investigated variables, logistic regression model showed that men are about two times more likely than women to be satisfied with their marriage (Adjusted odds ratio=1.82). Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that family income and gender have positive influences on marital satisfaction. Accordingly, provision of legal and social rules and regulations to ensure the equal right of men and women, as well as attempts to improve the economic status of the families can lead to marital satisfaction and family solidarity.