Abstract

Marital satisfaction is one of the common concepts used for assessing happiness and stability in a marriage. It is a multidimensional concept that is affected by several factors. The aim of this study was to review factors influencing marital satisfaction or dissatisfaction. A search through academic electronic databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), Scopus, Wiley Online Library, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Iranian databases in the period from 2000 to 2015, yielded 250 scientific papers. Related keywords that were used included marital satisfaction, marriage satisfaction, marital adjustment, and couple satisfaction. After reading the titles, 80 papers that satisfied the criteria for inclusion were selected. In general, 80 papers that were eligible to enter the study were reviewed. Following the review of papers, factors deemed to have considerable influence on marital satisfaction were identified as follows: demographic specifications, personality attributes, attachment style, relationship, communication and intimacy, couples' families, forgiveness and sacrifice, religion, emotional intelligence, personal health, and sexual relations (sex). Family counselors and therapists can benefit from these results to obtain a deeper perception of the foundations of married life and eventually, to help decrease the high divorce rate. Thus, conducting research on marital satisfaction to provide evidence for effecting a management strategy as well as to provide recommendation is indispensable.