The role of marital awareness in the relationship between empathy in marriage and mari̇tal satisfaction and forgiveness: A mixed study

The present study, carried out to reveal the perceptions of married individuals about awareness and empathy and to explain the relationship between awareness in marriage and empathy in marriage with forgiveness and marital satisfaction, consists of three stages. In the first stage, marriage awareness and how empathy is perceived in married individuals were examined. In the second stage, the marital awareness scale and marital empathy scale were developed by using qualitative research results. In the last stage, the relationships between marital awareness, empathy in marriage, marital satisfaction and forgiveness were tested with a structural model. The present study is a mixed-method study consisting of three parts: Qualitative research, scale development and structural model. The first two stages of the study are designed as an exploratory sequential design. Firstly, the marital awareness of married individuals and their experiences and perceptions of empathy in marriage were revealed through the qualitative method. Then, based on the results of the qualitative research, Marriage Awareness Scale (MAS) and Empathy in the Marriage Scale (EMS) were developed. In the third stage, a structural model was designed by using developed scales (MAS and EMS). The phenomenological research method was used in the qualitative part of the study. Using a semi-structured interview form (N = 20), interviews were conducted with married individuals on awareness and empathy in marriage. The obtained data were examined by content analysis using the MAXQDA 12 program. In the scale development phase of the study, data were collected from three different samples to develop the MAS and the EMS. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 351, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) 242 and criterion validity were carried out on 45 participants. SPSS 22 and AMOS 20 programs were used in the analyzes. In the third and last stage of the study, a structural model was tested by examining the relationships between forgiveness, marital satisfaction, marital awareness and empathy in marriage levels in married individuals. The analyzes at this stage were carried out on 596 participants. The structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis was carried out through the AMOS 20 program. The obtained results can be summarized as follows: Phenomenological research results show that participants' experiences and perceptions of marital awareness are handled under five main themes. These themes are care, understanding, sharing, responsibility and solidarity. Participant views on empathy in marriage formed around three themes. These themes are correct communication, understanding emotions and understanding each other. Based on these results, an item pool was created for the MAS and EMS. As a result of a series of analyzes (EFA, CFA, criterion validity and reliability analysis), it was seen that MAS and EMS are valid and reliable scales. In the correlational study phase, marital awareness, empathy in marriage, forgiveness and marital satisfaction scores of married individuals were examined in terms of gender, years of marriage, income level and education level. The results obtained are presented in tables. According to the results of the structural equation model, it was observed that empathy in marriage predicts forgiveness and marital satisfaction, and marriage awareness has a fully mediating role in this relationship.