Investigating the relationship between perfectionism and stubbornness with marital satisfaction in married students

General Psychology M.A Thesis for Master's degree

Abstract

The present study was conducted in order to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and stubbornness and marital satisfaction in married students. The statistical population of this study was all the married students of the master's degree of Azad University of Kermanshah, who were selected by stratified random sampling method 346 (173 women and 173 men). The tools used in this research included Marital satisfaction scale (1988), Kiamarshi and Najarian's perfectionism questionnaire (1376) and Ahvaz Kiamarshi and Najarian's psychological stubbornness questionnaire (1376). The results showed that there is a relationship between perfectionism and marital satisfaction in married students. There is also a significant relationship between perfectionism and marital satisfaction in married students. There is a relationship in married students.

Key words: perfectionism, marital satisfaction, stubbornness, married students

 This chapter begins with an introduction, and then the statement of the problem and the necessity of conducting research is examined, and then the research hypotheses are explained, and at the end, the conceptual and operational definition of perfectionism, stubbornness and marital satisfaction is presented.

1-1-Introduction

The family They have introduced a social institution or institution that is caused by the marriage bond between a man and a woman. One of the manifestations of human social life is the existence of healthy and constructive interaction between people, the existence of love for the same kind, and the expression of sincerity and empathy for each other. The family is the place to satisfy various physical, intellectual and emotional needs. A person's satisfaction with married life is considered as his satisfaction with his family, and satisfaction with family means satisfaction with life, and as a result, it facilitates the growth and excellence and material and spiritual progress of the society (Baghbani Sichani, Ahmadi Alunabadi and Gholamalian, 2016). Marital satisfaction is an overall assessment of the state of a person's current marital or romantic relationship. Marital satisfaction can be a reflection of people's level of happiness from marital relationships or a combination of satisfaction due to many factors specific to marital relationships. Marital satisfaction can be considered as a psychological situation that does not arise by itself but requires the efforts of both couples. Especially in the early years, marital satisfaction is very unstable and relationships are at the greatest risk (Banaian, Parvin and Kazemian, 2015).

1-2- Statement of the problem

Marital satisfaction is based on effective communication with the other party, lack of anger, maintaining the individual independence of the man and woman while participating together, valuing the desires and interests of the spouse, companionship and empathy, having a common goal and ideal, accepting hardships. And preparations to face the problems of life and being together in happy and difficult days and emphasizing and paying attention to the positive points of the spouse's character, expressing friendship and giving importance to each other have been defined as factors in the continuity of life together and the satisfaction of men and women (Pouya Manesh, Ahadi, Mazaheri and Delavar, 2017).  Correct verbal and non-verbal communication is the basis of a successful married life and the personality traits of the couple help in this matter. Couples who have personality traits of psychological toughness and are able to control the situation in difficult life situations can be more successful (Hafazti, Firouzabadi and Haqshanas, 2016).

One of the factors that can affect marital satisfaction is perfectionism. Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality style that is related to a large number of psychological and interpersonal problems and issues related to marital satisfaction (Grossarth and Eysenck,[1] 2009).

Perfectionism is not a disorder but it is a damaging factor that causes many problems for children and adults, especially in marital relationships (Kiamarthi, Najarian and Mehrabizadeh, 2017). Perfectionism is one of the psychological characteristics that is liked by many psychologists in the world and it means a person's persistent desire to set perfect and unattainable standards and try to achieve them (Wallan [2], 2013). Perfectionism refers to self-destructive thoughts and behaviors that aim to achieve extremely extreme and unrealistic goals. In today's society, perfectionism is mistakenly considered something desirable and even necessary for success (Friedman and Booth[3], 2011).

Melki (2012) in a research investigated the relationship between perfectionism and another construct called stubbornness and pointed out that perfectionist people show more stubbornness in different situations and because they have big dreams, they stubbornly resist in situations of pressure and stress. On the other hand, the category of psychological toughness is one of the new topics that occupied the minds of many researchers.  A stubborn person is someone who is able to control events or have an impact on them, and considers stressors to be changeable, and is committed to the activities he does, and expects that this change is an exciting struggle for further growth and considers it a normal aspect of life. Psychological toughness consists of the three dimensions of commitment, control, and struggle (Gordon and Dimock [4], 2013). In a research titled Simple and multiple relationship between psychological toughness and perfectionism with mental health, Savari (2013) reached the results that psychological toughness and perfectionism are related to mental health, respectively. Also, Ehtshamzadeh, Makundi and Bagheri (2013) investigated the relationship between forgiveness, perfectionism, and intimacy with marital satisfaction in veterans and their spouses, and the results indicated the existence of a multiple relationship between forgiveness, perfectionism, and intimacy with marital satisfaction, and forgiveness was reported to be the best predictor of couples' marital satisfaction. Therefore, the aim of the current research is to answer the question whether there is a relationship between perfectionism and stubbornness with marital satisfaction in married students? 1-3- Importance and necessity of the issue In 1365, for every 340 thousand 342 marriages, 35 thousand 211 divorces were registered in the country. This statistic reached 479,263 marriages against 37,817 divorces in 1375 and 650,960 marriages against 67,256 divorces in 1381 (Mohammed, 1392).

Although the statistics related to divorce for various reasons such as not being registered in the registers, issuance of the Sharia divorce form without notarization etc. are faced with a small number and are not very reliable. But the examination of the same statistics and the calculation of indicators such as the ratio of divorce to marriage or the ratio of divorce to the total population show that this statistic has been facing fluctuations during different years. Examining the absolute number of divorces during the years 1365 to 1381 shows an increase in the number of divorces during the years under review, but the calculation of statistical indices shows that in 1365 the divorce index increased, then it gradually decreased during the years 1370 to 1377, and from 1379 to 1381 this statistic increased again. In other words, the statistics show that the rate of divorce has been increasing in recent years (Mohammadi, 2012). This indicates that, although according to demographers, the increase in divorce has a direct relationship with the increase in marriage, the fluctuations of divorce indices are indirectly influenced by many factors such as economic and social factors, as well as life dissatisfaction and marital dissatisfaction (Arifi, 2010). The desired quality of life has always been and is a human desire, and the quality of life is a more dynamic and broader concept than health. Creating satisfaction with life has always been one of the goals of societies (Argil and Lu [5], 2010).

It seems that in the past, even though life facilities were less, the level of life satisfaction and especially marital satisfaction was higher. But today, satisfaction with married life has decreased (Argil, 2009). According to the stated content, it seems that identifying factors other than economic factors that increase the life satisfaction of couples is considered important. Today, perhaps one of the reasons for the decrease in marital satisfaction of couples compared to the past is the perfectionism of couples (Rahimi and Shams Khoramabadi, 2015). Perfectionism is not a disorder, but it is a harmful factor that causes problems for adults, teenagers and children. Most people confuse perfectionism with perfectionism or conscientiousness. Perfectionism is different from these attitudes. Perfectionism is an abnormal pattern of behavior, which can lead to many disorders. Perfectionism requires inappropriate levels of expectations and concrete goals and a constant lack of satisfaction (Rice and Delo[6], 2012). Therefore, according to the stated content, the importance of the present research can be felt. 1-4 research objectives 1-4-1 general purpose: The general purpose is to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and stubbornness with marital satisfaction in married students of Kermanshah.