Marital satisfaction among married Iranian students in Malaysia

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a Marital Satisfaction Instrument (MSI) among married Iranian students in Malaysia. This study also identifies the levels of marital satisfaction in terms of demographic traits. Finally, it will develop a Marital Satisfaction (MS) model for this population. So, to satisfy the purpose of this study, mixed method approach, qualitative and quantitative were employed. In the qualitative phase, 15 married Iranian students in Malaysia were interviewed. By utilising thematic analysis, 101 items were extracted from the interviews. In the quantitative phase, four pilot tests were conducted to test items and person reliability, item polarity and dimensionality based on Rasch measurement model. Findings show that MSI has an acceptable item reliability of 0.83, person reliability of 0.95 and dimensionality of 47%. MSI was able to identify that 44% or majority of the participants were in the satisfied level of MS. It was also found that there were differences between MS and demographic traits such as age, number of children and levels of finance. But, there were no significant differences between MS and gender, levels of education and length of marriage. Furthermore, MSI produced 10 most contributing dimensions of MS which include children’s issues, conflict resolution, time together, financial issues, personality traits, communication, family of origin, commitment, support, and sexual relationship among this population with a total of 46 items. Thus, this study develops a MS model based on the above dimensions using Rasch analysis. In the MS model, three dimensions: children issues, support and sexual relationship did not emerge in the previous models. By recognising these factors, the administration of Malaysian universities can use the MS model of married Iranian students to accelerate their adaption. Future research can focus on other married international students at local universities. In addition, a comparative study could be conducted between married international students and other cultural contexts.