Conflict management and marital satisfaction among married individuals

This descriptive study was conducted with the aim of investigating conflict management styles of married individuals with different marital satisfaction levels. In addition, marital satisfaction levels of married individuals were examined in terms of demographic variables. Participants were 700 married individuals (366 female, 334 male) living in Ankara. In the research, qualitative and quantitative methods were used together. The Marital Life Scale, Semi-Structured Interview Form and Personal Information Form were used to collect data. Descriptive analysis method was used for the analysis of qualitative data. Themes were based on Gottman Method Couples Therapy and the data obtained from the interviews were interpreted according to these themes. Multiple way variance analysis (ANOVA) and scheffe test for multiple comparisons were used in analysing the quantitative data. Results showed that the most frequent way of starting the conflict discussion in married individuals with low levels of marital satisfaction was harsh start-up and the most frequent way of starting the conflict discussion in married individuals with high marital satisfaction levels was soft start-up. Besides, the most frequent style of conflict management in married individuals with low levels of marital satisfaction was the hostile style, while the most frequent style of conflict management in married individuals with high levels of marital satisfaction was the validating style. Moreover, according to the expressions of married individuals with low levels of marital satisfaction, the most frequent style of conflict management in their spouses was hostile style, while in high levels' spouses was validating style. It was also found that marital satisfaction levels were significantly different according to age, length of acquaintance before marriage and number of children. However, marital satisfaction levels of married individuals were not significantly different according to gender, education level, occupation, average monthly income, decision of marriage, duration of marriage and age difference between spouses. Keywords: married individuals, marital satisfaction, marital conflict, Gottman method couples therapy, conflict management styles.