Correlation between Love and Intimacy of Couples with Mental Health of Married Women: Emphasizing the Characteristics of Islamic Lifestyle in Marriage

In the Islamic lifestyle, with the aim of achieving the satisfaction of the almighty God, the family has particular importance. Spouses' love for each other is one of the most important indicators of family strength. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation of love (including Islamic lifestyle indicators) with the mental health of married women.

 This research is a descriptive-correlational study. The statistical population of the study consisted of married female teachers aged 25-45 years in Tehran, Iran in the academic year of 2014-2015. 379 subjects were selected using cluster sampling method through the Morgan table. Data collection was carried out using a researcher-made questionnaire of Islamic lifestyle characteristics in marital relationships and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Data were analyzed using SPSS 16 through the Pearson correlation and liner regression tests.

 There was a positive and significant correlation between mental health and love (r=0.796; p=0.0001). The coefficient of determination or R2 was equal to 0.633; therefore, the love rate variable explains the variance of 63.3% for the mental health variable.

 With increasing love and intimacy of marital relationships, the mental health of married women increases.