The role of Discrepancy between Expectations and Reality of marital relationship in marital satisfaction of married people in Tehran

This research was conducted with the goal of studying the relation of discrepancy between expectations and reality of marital relationship and marital satisfaction. The method of research was descriptive and correlative. So، 146 married people (87 women & 59 men) from Tehran City were selected using voluntary sampling. For collecting data، the realistic experiences & the expectations of marital relation questionnaires، and the Relationship Assessment Scale were employed. Results showed that among all marital satisfaction components، there were significant correlation between difference of expectations and reality of marital Relationship & marital satisfaction. The result of stepwise regression analysis showed discrepancy between expectations and reality in components such as conflict resolution and commitment، had significant role to predict marital satisfaction. The results also showed that the difference of reality and expectations in components self-disclosure، affection، relational security، quality of communication، and conflict resolution are more significant among women than men.