The Mediating Role of Marital Forgiveness and Mental Well-being in the Relationship between Mindfulness and Sexual Satisfaction in Married Women and Men of Tehran City: A Descriptive Study

Sexual satisfaction is one of the important and influential factors in the couples’ stability and quality of marital life. Therefore, it is important to study the factors affecting it (such as; mindfulness, marital forgiveness, & mental well-being). Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of marital forgiveness and mental well-being in the relationship between mindfulness and sexual satisfaction. 

The present study is descriptive. The sample size included 300 married men and women in Tehran in the period of 2020-2021who were selected through the accessible sampling method.To collect the data, the Larson’s Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSSQ), the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI-SH), the Warwick-Edinburg Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), and the Paleari et al.’s Marital Offence-Specific Forgiveness Scale (MOFS) were used. Data were analyzed by using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and path analysis.

The results of the mediation analysis indicated that the direct effect of mindfulness on sexual satisfaction was significant (β=0.136, p=0.043). The indirect effect of mindfulness on sexual satisfaction through both marital forgiveness and mental well-being was also significant (β=0.056, p=0.017, β=0.289, p=0.010, respectively). Therefore, marital satisfaction and mental well-being had a partial mediating role in the relationship between mindfulness and sexual satisfaction.

The results obtained in this research can help mental health researchers and therapists in both the theoretical (expanding and enriching the theoretical concepts in the field of couple therapy) and practical (developing therapeutic and educational programs) aspects.