Research Paper: Sociodemographic Determinants of Marital Satisfaction Among an Iranian Population

Background: There is a lack of Iranian studies on marital satisfaction, which is one of the important factors in the stability of marriage. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of sociodemographic variables on marital satisfaction. Methods: This analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted on 770 married people from Gonabad City, Northeast of Iran. The simple random sampling method was used. Also, the ENRICH marital satisfaction scale was used to measure marital satisfaction as a dependent variable. A cutoff score of 100 was considered for the scale, with higher scores indicating satisfaction. Moreover, the logistic regression model was used to examine the effects of the variables on marital satisfaction. Results: The Mean ±SD age of the participants was 39.2 ±10.6 years. Most of the participants (75%) were categorized as satisfied, with a Mean ±SD score of 113.9 ±26.8. Besides, both univariate and multiple regression analyses showed a strong significant relationship between economic status and marital satisfaction, ie, a better economic status increased the odds of marital satisfaction. After controlling other investigated variables, the 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 present findings showed that family income and gender positively influence marital satisfaction. Accordingly, marital satisfaction and family solidarity could be enhanced by the provision of legal and social rules to ensure the equal right of men and women, as well as attempts to improve the economic status of the families.