A Structural Model of Relationship between Self- Efficacy in Romantic Relationships and Marital Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Relationship Maintenance Behaviours

Subject Areas : روان‌شناسی تحولی

Gholamreza Rajabi ¹ ( PhD Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz )
Farzaneh Rashidi ² ( MA in family counseling Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz )
Manocher Taghipour ³ ( PhD Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz )

Received: 2021-11-10 Accepted : 2021-11-10 Published : 2021-06-22

Keywords: Self-efficacy, marital satisfaction, Romantic, relationship maintenance,

Abstract :

This study aimed to determine fitness of the structural model of the relationship between self-efficacy in romantic relationship and marital satisfaction with regard to the mediating role of relationship maintenance behaviors. The research design was correlational study-structural equation modeling. 200 married-female teachers among elementary schools were selected using multi-stage random sampling method from regions 1 and 3 of Ahvaz city, and responded to the Self-efficacy in Romantic Relationships Scale (Riggio, Weiser, Valenzuela, Lui, Montes, & Heuer, 2011) Relational Maintenance Strategy Measure (Canary, & Stafford, 1992), and Marital Satisfaction Scale (Rajabi, 2010). The data were analyzed using structural equations modeling. The results showed that all of the model fitness indices were appropriate. The path coefficients of self-efficacy in romantic relationship to relationship maintenance strategies and the relationship maintenance strategies to marital satisfaction were significant. But the path of self-efficacy in romantic relationship to marital satisfaction was not significant. Also, relationship maintenance strategies had a mediation role in the relationship between self-efficacy in romantic relationship and marital satisfaction. Based on the findings of this study, it seems that people who have high self-efficacy in romantic relationship due to the use of relationship maintenance strategies experience more marital satisfaction

References:

Asano, R., Ito, K., & Yoshida, T. (2016). Correction: Shared relationship efficacy of dyad can increase life satisfaction in close relationships: Multilevel study. PLOS ONE, 11(12), e0167688.

Bagwell, E. K. (2006). Factors influencing marital satisfaction with a specific focus on depression. A senior degree in psychology, Department of Psychology, Eastern Michigan University, Michigan, USA.

Baker, L. R., McNulty, J. K., Overall, N. C., Lambert, N. M., & Fincham, F. D. (2012). How do relationship maintenance behaviors affect individual well-being? A contextual perspective. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(3), 282-289.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Freeman.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavior change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.

Bonfilss, K. A. (2015). Development and preliminary validation of the Romantic Relationship Functioning Scale. A Master of Science thesis in Psychology, Department of Psychology, Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.: Published of Amazon.

Canary, D. J., & Stafford, L. (1992). Relationship maintenance strategies and equity in marriage. Communication Monographs, 59, 243-267.

Canary, D. J., Stafford, L., & Semic, B. A. (2002). A panel study of the associations between maintenance strategies and relational characteristics. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 395-406.

سازمان ثبت احوال کشور. (2018/1398). http://www.sabteahval.ir Retrieved 10 July. 2018 from

Cui, M., Fincham, F. D., & Pasley, B. K. (2008). Young adult romantic relationships: The role of parents' marital problems and relationship efficacy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1226-1235.

Fincham, F.D., Harold, G &,. Gano-Phillips, S. (2013). The longitudinal relation between attributions and marital satisfaction: Direction of effects and role of efficacy expectations. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 267-285.

Fletcher, G. (2002). The new science of intimate relationship. Oxford: Publishers ltd.

Ghezelseflo, M., Jazayeri, R., Bahrami, F., & Mohammadi Fesharaki, R. (2016). The role of relational maintenance behavior and attachment styles in predicting marital commitment. Asian Social Science, 12(9), 223-229.

Greef, A. P. (2000). Characteristics of families that function well. Journal of Family Issues, 21, 948-962.

Guerrero, L. K., Andersen, P. A., & Afifi, W. A. (2007). Close encounters: communication in relationships (2nd Ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Johnson, K. D. (2015). Marital expectation fulfillment and its relationship to height of marital expectations, optimism, and relationship self-efficacy among married individuals. A Ph.D. thesis in counseling psychology, School of Education, Andrews University, Michigan, USA.

Lopez, F. G., Morúa, W., & Rice, K. G. (2007). Factor structure, stability, and predictive validity of college students’ relationship self-efficacy beliefs. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 40, 80-96.

Mansson, D. H., & Myers. S. M. (2016). Relational maintenance, relational characteristics, and relational uncertainty in the faculty advisor-doctoral advisee relationship. Communication Research Reports, 33(3), 207-216.

Mashal Pour Fard, M., Kavoosi, M., Ebadi, Z., & Mousavi, S. (2016). The relationship between self-efficacy and marital satisfaction among married students. International Journal of Pediatric, 4(8), 3315-3321.

Merolla, A. J. (2012). Connecting here and there: A model of long-distance relationship maintenance. Personal Relationships, 19, 775-795.

Nationality Organization for Civil Registration of Iran. (2018). http://www.sabteahval.ir Retrieved 10 July. 2018 from. (In Persian).

Oglsky, B. G, & Bowers, J. R. (2013). A meta-analytic review of relationship maintenance and its correlates, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 3(3), 343-367.

Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879-891.

Rajabi, Gh. (2006). Study of Reliability and Validity General Self-Efficacy Beliefs (GSE-10) in students of College of Education & Psychology of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz and Marvdasht Azad University. Quarterly Journal of New Thoughts on Education, 2(1 & 2), 111-122. (In Persian).

Rajabi, Gh. (2010). Factorial Structure of Marital Satisfaction Scale in Married Staff Members of Shahid Chamran University. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry & Clinical Psychology, 15(4), 351-358. (In Persian).

Rajabi, Gh., Sarvestani. Y., Aslani, K., & Khojastemehr, R. (2013), Predicators of marital satisfaction in married female Nurses. Iran Journal of Nursing, 26 (82), 23-33. (In Persian).

Riggio, H. R., Weiser, D. A., Valenzuela, A. M., Lui, P. P., Montes, R., & Heuer, J. (2013). Self-efficacy in romantic relationships: Prediction of relationship attitudes and outcomes. The Journal of Social Psychology, 153, 629-650.

Riggio, H. R., Weiser, D. A., Valenzuela, A. M., Lui, P. P., Montes, R., & Heuer, J. (2011). Initial validation of a measure of self-efficacy in romantic relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 601-606.

Stafford, L. (2013). Marital sanctity, relationship maintenance, and marital quality. Journal of Family Issues, 37(1), 119-131.

Stafford, L., & Canary, D. J. (1991). Maintenance strategies and romantic relationship type, sex and relational characteristics. Journal of Social and Personal Relationship, 8, 217-242.

Van Steenbergen, E. F., Kluwer, E. S., & Karney, B. R. (2014). Work-family enrichment, work-family conflict, and marital satisfaction: A dyadic analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(2), 182-194.

Weigel, D. J., & Ballard-Reisch, D. S. (2008). Relational maintenance, satisfaction, and commitment in marriages: An actor–partner analysis. Journal of Family Communication, 8(3), 212-229.

Weiser, D. A., & Weigel, D. J. (2016). Self-efficacy in romantic relationships: Direct and indirect effects on relationship maintenance and satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 89, 152-156.

Xia, S. (2013). An investigation about relationship maintenance strategies after the discovery of deception about infidelity. A Master of Arts Thesis in Communication Studies, Texas Tech University, Texas, USA.