What makes women happy in marriage: an examination of adaptive relationship attribution, marital satisfaction, and well-being in India using PLS-SEM

ABSTRACT

This novel study specific to Assam in India, examines how practicing adaptive relationship attribution will result in marital satisfaction, which, in turn, will to lead to a positive sense of well-being in married women. The proposed model was built on the Lazarus appraisal theory of emotion – a theory well applicable in the Indian context. Data was collected through standardised questionnaires and analysed using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) – a method that yields highly predictive accuracy in results. Results provided support for both hypotheses with highly acceptable goodness of fit. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the validity of the proposed model in the Assamese cultural context with important implications for family counsellors and mental health practitioners.

KEYWORDS:

• Adaptive relationship attribution
• marital satisfaction
• well-being
• PLS-SEM
• married woman

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to her mentor and advisor Prof. M. G. Shahnawaz, Dept. of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India, for his invaluable guidance and inspiration; to Prof. Naved Iqbal and the entire Psychology Department faculty at Jamia Millia Islamia for their unwavering support. Thankful to all the participants of the study who generously dedicated their time to complete the questionnaires.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declaration of conflicting interests

The Author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Research ethics and participants’ consent

All procedures performed involving human participants were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Consent was obtained from all participants before the study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University Grants Commission (UGC) India Doctoral fellowship; file no. 11-6592.

Notes on contributors

Syeda Wasfeea Wazid

Dr. Syeda Wasfeea Wazid is a psychologist and researcher dedicated to social work activities. She earned her PhD degree in Psychology from Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi, India.