The relationship between domestic violence and marital adjustment; The moderating role of marital virtues

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD in Family Counseling, Department of Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

2 Department of Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

3 Associate Professor, Department of Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

10.22098/jfrs.2025.17893.1254

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between domestic violence and couple adjustment: the moderating role of marital virtues.

Methods: The method of the present research is correlational. The statistical population of this study was all married women living in Bandar Mahshahr, from which 330 people participated in this study using a convenience sample. The data collection tools were the Domestic Violence Questionnaire, the Marital Adjustment Questionnaire (DAS) (Spiner, 1976), and the Marital Virtues Profile (MPV) (Fawcett et al., 2013). The collected data were analyzed using correlation analysis, moderation regression methods and AMOS software version 26.

Results: The findings showed that there is a direct and significant relationship between the research variables (P<0.01), and the indirect path coefficient of marital virtues in the relationship between domestic violence and marital adjustment is not significant (p =0.11). It can be said that this finding, in line with some research, emphasizes the destructive role of violence in couple relationships.

Conclusion: Based on the findings, it seems that in relationships where violence exists, simply having virtues such as forgiveness or tolerance cannot prevent the deterioration of marital adjustment, and other supportive and intervention factors must also be considered.

Keywords



Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 October 2025
  • Receive Date: 22 July 2025
  • Revise Date: 12 October 2025
  • Accept Date: 15 October 2025