Journal of Counseling Research

Abstract

Background: marital quality of life as an index of marriage success is among the important factors related to marital stability. Quality is a dynamic and interactive process among couples which is influenced by each couple's appraisal of their relationships and it includes both individual and interpersonal factors. Current research aimed to investigate the role of irrational beliefs and emotion regulation skills in predicting the marital quality of life. Methods: in this cross-sectional, correlational study the population consisted of the married, female teachers in Sabzevar which were working as teachers in 2015. The sample included 303 of these female teachers which were selected using single stage random cluster sampling method. Instruments included Persian translations of the revised dyadic adjustment scale (RDAS) and the emotion regulation skills questionnaire (ERSQ), the Persian 4-factor irrational beliefs test-Ahvaz (4IBT-A) was also completed by the participants. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation, and stepwise regression were used as data analysis methods. Results: irrational beliefs and emotion regulation skills significantly predicted the marital quality of life. Irrational beliefs variable with a beta coefficient of -.36 was the strongest predictor of marital quality of life. Conclusion: Irrational beliefs negatively and emotion regulation skills positively predict the marital quality of life.