Relationship between Marital Satisfaction and Attachment Style: The Mediating Role of Mentalization and Boredom

Introduction: Couple satisfaction is a major and complicated aspect of marital life inside a family. Various factors are involved in it and affect it. The goal of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of boredom and mentalization in the relationship between attachment and marital satisfaction of women and men in the city of Bandar Abbas. Method: The study method falls under descriptive and correlative research. The statistical population of the study consisted of all married people in the city of Bandar Abbas in ۲۰۲۱-۲۰۲۲, out of whom ۳۵۰ people were selected via the convenience sampling method. To gather data, Pines’ Marital Boredom Scale (۱۹۹۶), Fonagy’s Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (۲۰۱۶), Attachment Questionnaire, and Olson’s Marital Satisfaction Scale (۱۹۹۴). To evaluate the hypothetical model and indirect effects, the maximum likelihood estimation and Bootstrap test were used. To analyze data, SPSS (version ۲۳) and LISREL (Version ۸.۸) Software were used. Results: Secure and avoidant attachment styles with the standard coefficients of -۰.۳۷ and -۰.۲۴ were found to affect mentalization and marital boredom; mentalization and marital boredom with the standard coefficients of -۰.۱۷ and -۰.۱۴ affected marital satisfaction. In addition, secure and insecure attachment styles with the standard coefficients of ۰.۲۰ and -۰.۴۷ affected marital satisfaction (all effects were significant at p˂۰.۰۰۱). Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study, it can be stated that couples’ attachment (secure or avoidant) styles and other variables affecting attachment, i.e., mentalization and boredom can affect couples’ marital satisfaction.