Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019:41:e2019023.
doi: 10.4178/epih.e2019023. Epub 2019 Jun 15.

Protective factors of marital stability in long-term marriage globally: a systematic review

Reza Karimi  1 , Maryam Bakhtiyari  1 , Abbas Masjedi Arani  1
Affiliations

Protective factors of marital stability in long-term marriage globally: a systematic review

Reza Karimi et al. Epidemiol Health. 2019.

Abstract

Objectives: In recent decades, due to the high prevalence of divorce in numerous countries and the detrimental aftermath thereof, it has become increasingly important to study the components of marital stability. The current study explored fundamental protective factors in long-term marriage through a systematic review.

Methods: Searches for relevant publications were conducted in Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Magiran, and Scientific Information Database from their inception through January 30, 2019. Through the keyword search, 1,706 articles were found, of which 25 articles remained after screening based on the eligibility criteria.

Results: The extracted protective factors associated with marital stability in long-term marriage were classified as interpersonal and intrapersonal. Notable extracted factors included spirituality and religion, commitment, sexual relationship, communication, children, love and attachment, intimacy, and conflict resolution approach. These findings show that some aspects of relationships, such as commitment, act to preserve the pillars of marriage in critical situations, while other aspects, such as intimacy, help to construct marital identity and satisfaction.

Conclusions: The identified components of marital stability are structures that enhance a couple's identity and sense of togetherness. Identifying the specific aspects of marital relationships that contribute to marital stability may help specialists and researchers to target specific types of marital interaction that may enhance the happiness and longevity of relationships, thereby preventing avoidable divorces.

Keywords: Divorce; Long-term marriage; Marital stability; Protective factors; Systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare for this study.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart for reviewing the literature and retrieval process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Benson JJ, Coleman M. Older adults developing a preference for living apart together. J Marriage Fam. 2016;78:797–812.
    1. Bachand LL, Caron SL. Ties that bind: a qualitative study of happy long-term marriages. Contemp Fam Ther. 2001;23:105–121.
    1. Cohen O, Geron Y, Farchi A. A typology of marital quality of enduring marriages in Israel. J Fam Issues. 2010;31:727–747.
    1. Lawrence E, Nylen K, Cobb RJ. Prenatal expectations and marital satisfaction over the transition to parenthood. J Fam Psychol. 2007;21:155–164. - PubMed
    1. Hollist CS, Miller RB. Perceptions of attachment style and marital quality in midlife marriage. Fam Relat. 2005;54:46–57.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources