The Effects of Religiosity, Forgiveness, and Emotion Regulation on Marital Satisfaction in Ethiopia
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background/ problem: Despite the growing body of studies on marital relationships, there are limited research addressing factors that positively contribute to marital satisfaction.
Objective/ purpose: The study aimed to examine the effect of religiosity, forgiveness, and emotion regulation on marital satisfaction in the Ethiopian context.
Design and Methodology: A descriptive-correlational study involved 198 civil servants of the Addis Ababa city administration. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the participants. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyze the data.
Results: The findings of the correlation analysis indicated that the main study variables were significantly associated with marital satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that religiosity (β = .27, p < .001), forgiveness (β = .18, p < .001), and emotion regulation (β = .14, p = .042) significantly contributed to explaining 32% of the variance in marital satisfaction (R2 =.32) [F (9, 168) = 8.84, p < .001].
Conclusion and Implications: In conclusion, the findings suggest that enhancing marital satisfaction among partners is crucial, with religiosity, forgiveness, and emotion regulation being key factors. The positive effect of religiosity highlights the importance of designing programs that encourage partners to engage in different religious activities. Furthermore, by implementing training programs focused on fostering forgiveness and emotion regulation, practitioners can enhance their clients' marital satisfaction. Specifically, holistic counseling and couple's therapy programs that integrate religious teachings, forgiveness exercises, and emotion regulation strategies could help couples to address relationship challenges.
Originality/Value for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): This study can make a valuable contribution to SDG-3 (good health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality). By providing insights into the qualities that influence marital well-being, this study can inform policies and programs designed to promote healthy marital relationships and gender equality within the Ethiopian context.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Addisu, T. B., Dereje, W. A., & Asabneh, M. Y. (2017). Socio-demographic determinants of marital satisfaction in Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 9(10), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.5897/ijsa2016.0689
Adeyemo, D. A., & Adeleye, A. T. (2008). Emotional intelligence, religiosity and self-efficacy as predictors of psychological well-being among secondary school adolescents in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 4(1), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v4i1.423
Agu, S. A., & Nwankwo, B. E. (2019). Influence of religious commitment, intentionality in marriage and forgiveness on marital satisfaction among married couples. IFE Psychologia: An International Journal, 27(2), 121–133. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ifep/article/view/190501
Aman, J., Abbas, J., Lela, U., & Shi, G. (2021). Religious affiliation, daily spirituals, and private religious factors promote marital commitment among married couples: Does religiosity help people amid the COVID-19 crisis? Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 657400. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.657400
Aman, J., Abbas, J., Nurunnabi, M., & Bano, S. (2019). The relationship of religiosity and marital satisfaction: The role of religious commitment and practices on marital satisfaction among Pakistani respondents. Behavioral Sciences, 9(30), 30. https://doi.org/doi:10.3390/bs9030030
Azimi, Z., & Hobbi, M. B. (2022). Predicting marital satisfactions based on religious attitude and forgiveness in women of military families. Scientific Journal of Military Psychology, 13(49), 165–186. https://doi.org/DOR: 20.1001.1.25885162.1401.13.49.4.8
Beaton, D. E., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., & Ferraz, M. B. (2000). Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine, 25(24), 3186–3191. https://doi.org/doi:10.1097/00007632-200012150-00014
Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Prentice-Hall.
Burr, W. R., Marks, L. D., & Day, R. D. (2012). Sacred matters: Religion and spirituality in families. Routledge.
Darbani, S. A., Eslami, F., & Tabatabaeifar, S. M. (2020). The role of religious orientation, self-control, and forgiveness in predicting marital satisfaction. Journal of Assessment and Research in Applied Counseling (JARAC), 2(2), 18–29. https://journals.kmanpub.com/index.php/jarac/article/view/27
David, P., & Stafford, L. (2015). A relational approach to religion and spirituality in marriage: The role of couples’ religious communication in marital satisfaction. Journal of Family Issues, 36(2), 232–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X1348 5922
Dobrowolska, M., Groyecka-Bernard, A., Sorokowski, P., Randall, A. K., Hilpert, P., Ahmadi, K., Alghraibeh, A. M., Aryeetey, R., Bertoni, A., Bettache, K., Błażejewska, M., Bodenmann, G., Bortolini, T.S., Bosc, Carla., Butovskaya, M., Castro, F. N., Cetinkaya, H., Cunha, D., David, D., David, O. A., Dileym, F. A., Espinosa, A. C. D., …& Sorokowska, A. (2020). Global perspective on marital satisfaction. Sustainability, 12(8817), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218817
Fahimdanesh, F., Noferesti, A., & Tavakol, K. (2020). Self-compassion and forgiveness: Major predictors of marital satisfaction in young couples. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 48(3), 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926187.2019.1708832
Fatima, M., & Ajmal, M. A. (2012). Happy Marriage: A qualitative study. Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 10(1), 37–42. https://gcu.edu.pk/pages/gcupress/pjscp/volumes/pjscp2012april-7.pdf
Fincham, F. D. (2010). Forgiveness: Integral to a science of close relationships (pp. 347–365). https://www.fincham.info/papers/2010-forgiveness-review.pdf
Fincham, F. D., Jackson, H., & Beach, S. R. H. (2005). Transgression severity and forgiveness: Different moderators for objective and subjective severity. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(6), 860–875. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2005.24.6.860
Fincham, F. D., Stanley, S. M., & Beach, S. R. H. (2007). Transformative processes in marriage: An analysis of emerging trends. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(2), 275–292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.x
Funk, J. L., & Rogge, R. D. (2007). Testing the ruler with item response theory: Increasing precision of measurement for relationship satisfaction with the ouples satisfaction index. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(4), 572–583. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.572
Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26(1), 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOBA.0000007455.08539.94
Guo, B., & Huang, J. (2005). Marital and sexual satisfaction in Chinese families: Exploring the moderating effects. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 31(1), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926230590475224
Hernandez, B. C. (2011). The religiosity and spirituality scale for youth: Development and initial validation [Doctoral dissertation]. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College. https://doi.org/10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.2206
Hosu, R. I., & Năstasă, L. E. (2020). Marital adjustment and emotion regulation between personal choices and family legacy. Journal of Experiential Psychotherapy, 23(4), 22–33. https://jep.ro/images/pdf/cuprins_reviste/92_art_02.pdf
Javed, F., Ahmad, M., & Iqbal, M. N. (2022). Resilience and emotional regulation predicting marital satisfaction in females diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Pak-Euro Journal of Medical and Life Sciences, 5(2), 391–398. https://doi.org/10.31580/pjmls.v5i2.2572
Karney, B. R., & Bradbury, T. N. (1995). The longitudinal course of marital quality and stability: A review of theory, methods, and research. Psychological Bulletin, 118(1), 3–34. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.118.1.3
Koole, S. L. (2010). The psychology of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Cognition and Emotion, 23, 4–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930802619031
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Sample size determination table. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607–610. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
Kyambi, W. R., Michael, K., & Michelle, K. (2017). The influence of religiosity on marital satisfaction and stability. Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, 5(8), 7–12. https://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol5-issue8/B580712.pdf
Levesque, C., Lafontaine, M. F., & Bureau, J. F. (2017). The mediating effects of emotion regulation and dyadic coping on the relationship between romantic attachment and non-suicidal self-injury. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(2), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0547-6
Li, T., & Fung, H. H. (2011). The dynamic goal theory of marital satisfaction. Review of General Psychology, 15(3), 246–254. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024694
Low, R. S. T., Overall, N. C., Cross, E. J., & Henderson, A. M. E. (2019). Emotion regulation, conflict resolution, and spillover on subsequent family functioning. Emotion, 19(7), 1162. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000519
Mekonnen, Y., Kassa, K., & Ayalew, M. (2019). Prevalence, causes and consequences of divorce in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia. African Journal of Social Work, 9(1), 73–78. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajsw/article/view/184252
Onyishi, E. I., Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., & Pipitone, R. N. (2012). Children and marital satisfaction in a non-Western sample: Having more children increases marital satisfaction among the Igbo people of Nigeria. Evolution and Human Behavior, 33(6), 771–774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.06.005
Perry, S. L. (2015). A match made in heaven? religion-based marriage decisions, marital quality, and the moderating effects of spouse’s religious commitment. Social Indicators Research, 123, 203–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0730-7
Sauerheber, J. D., Hughey, A. W., Wolf, C. P., Ginn, B., & Stethen, A. (2021). The relationship among and between marital satisfaction, religious faith, and political orientation. The Family Journal, 29(1), 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480720939023
Shamsi, M. F., & Asad, S. (2021). Emotional maturity, forgiveness, and marital satisfaction among dual earner couples. Bahria Journal of Professional Psychology, 20(1), 1–13. https://bjpp.bahria.edu.pk/index.php/BJPP/article/view/309
Siennick, S. E., Stewart, E. A., & Staff, J. (2014). Explaining the association between incarceration and divorce. Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 52(3), 371–398. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12040
Tadesse, D. (2014). The relationship between premarital preparation and marital satisfaction: With reference to the mothers of students of Eagle (Nisir) new generation school in Addis Ababa (Unpublished master’s thesis). Addis Ababa University. https://etd.aau.edu.et/items/6d660cb7-159d-41db-b827-454e8af411f2
Tani, F., Pascuzzi, D., & Raffagnino, R. (2015). Emotion regulation and quality of close relationship: The effects of emotion dysregulation processes on couple intimacy. BPA-Applied Psychology Bulletin, 272, 3-15.
United Nations. (2024). World population prospects: (Medium-fertility variant). Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Population Division. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
Wilson, S. J., & Novak, J. R. (2022). The implications of being in it together: Relationship satisfaction and joint health behaviors predict better health and stronger concordance between partners. Annals of Behaviral Medicine, 56(10), 1014–1025. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaab099