Factors Affecting Marital Satisfaction in Asian Couples: A Narrative Review Article Download PDF

Introduction and Purpose: Marital satisfaction is one of the most important factors affecting the mental and emotional stability of couples and a successful marriage. This article aims at reviewing studies on effective factors in the marital satisfaction of couples in Asian countries. Materials and Methods: This narrative review study was carried out on research articles conducted in Asian countries and published from 2000 to 2017. They were identified through relevant keywords and advanced search in databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Springer, Science Direct, Web of Science and SID. Results: Reviewing the articles led to the organization of the results into three main categories of factors affecting marital satisfaction in Asian couples including demographic factors (type of marriage, age of getting married, age difference between the couples, length of marriage, education level of the couples, employment status of the couples, children and the economic status of the spouse), cognitive factors (mental health of the couples) and interpersonal factors (relationships, interactions, and international marriage). The results showed that a higher education level was related to increased marital satisfaction but great age difference, women’s employment and having young children resulted in marital dissatisfaction in couples. For most of the studies conducted in countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, the factor of traditional marriage presented conflicting results. In some areas, it resulted in couple’s dissatisfaction while in other areas, it did not. However, in East Asian countries, the traditional marriage was often deemed a crucial factor in marital dissatisfaction of couples. Conclusion: In Asian countries, women usually report less marital satisfaction than men. The stage of marriage (length of marriage) is a U-shape factor in marital satisfaction. Socio-economic factors affect marital satisfaction, and the wife’s employment causes marital dissatisfaction. Therefore, since traditional marriage is still in practice in most Asian countries, the different factors will not be moderated and marital dissatisfaction will continue to exist.