Development of an Emotional Divorce Model in Women Using Happiness, Religious Attitude, and Marital Satisfaction

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to elucidate a model of emotional divorce in Iranian Muslim women, based on factors such as happiness, religious attitude, and marital satisfaction. Methods: This research employed an applied approach with a descriptive-correlational design. The research sample comprised 337 married Muslim women of Yazd in 2021, selected using convenience sampling. In the model developed, the variables included happiness and religious attitude (exogenous variables), marital satisfaction (endogenous mediator variable), and emotional divorce (endogenous variable). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI), Gutman's Emotional Divorce Questionnaire (GEDQ), the Religion Assessment Questionnaire (RAQ), and the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMSS). Data analysis was performed using SPSS-21 and LISREL-8.80 software. The Sobel test was also utilized to explore the mediating role of marital satisfaction. Results: The findings revealed that happiness has a direct and significant impact on marital satisfaction. Happiness, religious attitude, and marital satisfaction all exhibited significant and direct effects on emotional divorce (p < 0.05). Additionally, happiness, through its influence on marital satisfaction, was found to affect the emotional divorce of women. Conclusion: It can be inferred that higher levels of happiness in women are associated with increased marital satisfaction. Moreover, greater happiness and marital satisfaction in women correspond to a reduced likelihood of experiencing emotional divorce in the future.