Variations in Predictors of Marital Satisfaction Across More Religious and Less Religious Regions of the United States

Abstract

Numerous studies have focused on links between religiosity and marital outcomes. Results suggest that various aspects of religiosity predict outcomes such as marital satisfaction and commitment. However, less research has focused on identifying the processes by which these links occur. This study had two primary goals: (a) determine if perceptions of spousal values mediate associations between religiosity and marital satisfaction and (b) examine the degree to which predictors of marital satisfaction differ across different regions of the United States. Data were gathered from 1,513 married individuals living in Arkansas, Utah, and Vermont. Results indicated that religiosity and perceptions of several spousal values were significantly associated with increased marital satisfaction. Findings suggest little evidence of mediating effects of spousal values, but there was significant variation in findings across the three states.

Shared Religious Beliefs, Prayer, and Forgiveness as Predictors of Marital Satisfaction

“…To date, the findings from these studies have been somewhat equivocal. For example, in a separate analysis of the data presented in this article, we found little evidence of mediating effects of personal values on the relation between religiosity and marital satisfaction (Olson, Goddard, & Marshall, in press). In contrast, Day and Acock () found that specific relationship virtues, including measures of forgivingness, commitment, and sacrifice, mediated a positive relationship between religiosity and marital well‐being.…”

Religious Affiliation and Marital Satisfaction: Commonalities Among Christians, Muslims, and Atheists

“…In conclusion, despite a large body of research on marital satisfaction (Bradbury et al, 2000;Twenge et al, 2003;Hilpert et al, 2016), most studies have rarely controlled for participants' religion. Even when they have done so, they have not explored the differences between people of various religious affiliations (Sullivan, 2001;Williams and Lawler, 2003;Olson et al, 2016). Future research should therefore focus on people of different (1) religions (especially lessprevalent ones); and (2) cultures (as most studies up to date have been conducted on Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic populations (Henrich et al, 2010), and should take into consideration other factors that may influence marital satisfaction among people of different religious affiliations (e.g., number of children, education, country's development), as this would provide further understanding on the interaction between religion and marital happiness, as well as culture.…”

“…Nevertheless, few data exist on how religious affiliation affects marital satisfaction; and even when studies have taken up this topic, they have had limitations. For example, they have mainly focused on various dimensions of religiosity (e.g., church attendance, religious homogamy, and theological conservatism), and not the specific religion (Schumm et al, 1989;Shehan et al, 1990;Booth et al, 1995;Brandt, 2004;Gaunt, 2006;Vaaler et al, 2009;Wade and Wiloso, 2016); examined people of different religions, but without further comparing the effects of each religion on marital satisfaction (Sullivan, 2001;Williams and Lawler, 2003;Olson et al, 2016); looked at members of one religion (Christian: Shehan et al, 1990;Anthony, 1993;Booth et al, 1995;Sullivan, 2001;Williams and Lawler, 2003;Asamarai et al, 2008;Lichter and Carmalt, 2009;Christian andJewish: Heaton, 1984(Muslim: Al-Othman, 2012;Fard et al, 2013;Al-Darmaki et al, 2016;Mormon: Schramm et al, 2012); been conducted in one country (United States: Brandt, 2004;Marks, 2005;Brown et al, 2008;Schramm et al, 2012;Israel: Gaunt, 2006;Iran: Fard et al, 2013(United Arab Emirates: Al-Othman, 2012Al-Darmaki et al, 2016;Ghana: Dabone, 2012); or included only low-income married couples (Lichter and Carmalt, 2009). Furthermore, results from those studies brought mixed results.…”

“…Furthermore, results from those studies brought mixed results. Some research has suggested that religious couples are happier with their marriages than are non-religious couples (Ortega et al, 1988;Anthony, 1993;Brandt, 2004;Mahoney et al, 2008;Schramm et al, 2012), with Christians showing greater happiness than Muslims (Lev-Wiesel and Al-Krenawi, 1999, but for contradictory results see Abu-Rayya, 2007), while other studies have provided evidence of a weak association between marital satisfaction and religion (Booth et al, 1995;Sullivan, 2001;Gaunt, 2006;Orathinkal and Vansteenwegen, 2006;Al-Othman, 2012;Fard et al, 2013), and a few indicated there is no link (Williams and Lawler, 2003;Luo and Klohnen, 2005;Dabone, 2012;Olson et al, 2016).…”

Global Perspective on Marital Satisfaction

“…Values and norms surrounding romantic relationships, especially the institution of marriage, may be influenced by religious beliefs, making religiosity likely to be related to marital satisfaction [51,52]. A high level of religiousness has been shown to be associated with higher levels of marital satisfaction [53]. Research has revealed contradictory evidence regarding whether only religiousness or also religious affiliation are indicators of marital satisfaction [54].…”