Exploring the Relationship between Spiritual Well-Being and Marital Satisfaction among Urban Malays in Malaysia

Abstract

Spiritual well-being is gradually gaining attention by researchers in understanding the psychological process of marital relations. Thus, this study aims to explore the relationship between spiritual well-being and marital satisfaction among married urban Malays. This study is a part of a larger study to identifying psychological aspects within marital relationships. A total of 578 married Malay individuals (male=256, female=322) from the Klang Valley participated voluntarily in this study. Questionnaires consisted of questions related to personal background, spiritual well-being and marital satisfaction were distributed by the enumerators to the respondents. Completed questionnaires were collected by the enumerators and then coded and analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Overall, Pearson Correlation Analysis showed that there was a small, positive and significant relationship between spiritual well-being (religiosity) and marital satisfaction (r= .19**, k<0.01). In addition, Pearson correlation analysis also showed that there was a medium, positive and significant relationship between spiritual well-being (existential) and marital satisfaction (r= .32**, k<0.01). In sum, findings indicated that married individuals with higher spiritual well-being scores were more likely to have high scores in marital satisfaction. This study will have implications for the field of psychology focussing on marital satisfaction. Implication of this study is to the field of psychology focussing on marital satisfaction. Another implication of this study is to the importance of spiritual aspects when helping married individuals and couples. Specifically to helping professions such as counsellors, therapists and social workers in helping individuals and married couples.