Relationship of Forgiveness and Feeling of Loneliness with Attitudes toward Marital Infidelity Regarding the Moderating Role of Marital Satisfaction in Married Students

Introduction: Marital infidelity is a major factor that affects the strength, durability, and mental health of families. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of marital satisfaction in the causal relationships between forgiveness and the feeling of loneliness with attitudes toward marital infidelity in married students. Materials and Methods: This causal-correlational and field study was conducted on 211 married students who were selected from Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran, during the academic year 2018-2019 through convenience sampling. The data were collected using the Interpersonal Forgiveness Inventory, Russell’s Loneliness Scale, Whatley’s Attitude towards Infidelity Scale, and ENRICH marital satisfaction questionnaire. Furthermore, the data analysis was performed in SPSS software (version 24) through descriptive and inferential statistics, including mean±SD, Pearson’s correlation, and path analysis. Results: A direct and negative relationship was observed between forgiveness and attitudes toward marital infidelity (β=-0.181, P=0.013); feeling of loneliness and marital satisfaction (β=-0.252, P=0.001); and marital satisfaction and attitudes toward marital infidelity (β=-0.418, P=0.001). Furthermore, there was a direct and positive relationship between forgiveness and marital satisfaction (β=0.517, P=0.001). Eventually, there was no significant direct relationship between the feeling of loneliness and attitudes toward marital infidelity (β=-0.029, P=0.652). The results of path analysis indicated that marital satisfaction had a mediating role in the relationship between forgiveness and attitude towards marital infidelity (β=-0.165, P=0.001), as well as the association between the feeling of loneliness and attitude towards marital infidelity (β=0.138, P=0.002). Conclusion: The results showed a good fit for the proposed model in this study. Moreover, marital satisfaction played an important role in the relationship between forgiveness and the feeling of loneliness with the attitude toward marital infidelity.