The Role of Quality of Marriage on Life Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being Among U.S. Military Spouses

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between quality of marriage, life satisfaction and psychological well-being among military spouses. Sense of coherence and number of deployments were included as moderators of the relationship between quality of marriage, life satisfaction and psychological well-being. It was hypothesized that quality of marriage would significantly predict life satisfaction and psychological well-being. In addition, sense of coherence and number of deployments would moderate the effect of quality of marriage on life satisfaction and psychological well-being. It was also expected that there would be a significant relationship between the two moderating variables, sense of coherence and number of deployments. Results showed that across analyses, quality of marriage was a significant predictor of life satisfaction (? = .444, B = .305, p < .001; ? = .656, B = .451, p < .001) as well as psychological well-being (? = .422, B = .639, p < .001). However, when sense of coherence was included as a moderator, quality of marriage did not significantly predict psychological well-being. Although sense of coherence was found to be a statistically significant predictor of both life satisfaction and psychological well-being (? = .400, B = .216, p < .001; ? = .752, B = .898, p < .001), number of deployments was not found to be predictive of either life satisfaction or psychological well-being. Additionally, no moderating effects were found and the relationship between sense of coherence and number of deployments was not significant. The findings of this study highlight the protective roles of both quality of marriage and sense of coherence. The study recommends that programs and policies geared toward military spouses focus simultaneously on both relational and psychological factors to increase effectiveness.