Dysfunctional relationship beliefs in marital satisfaction and adjustment

In this study we investigated the association between dysfunctional relationship beliefs and marital relationships of Turkish nonclinical married individuals. The Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions Scale (Hamamci & Büyüközturk, 2004), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), and Marriage Life Scale (Tezer, 1986), which measure marital satisfaction, were administered to the sample of 190 married females and males. Analysis revealed that married individuals with low dyadic adjustment endorsed significantly more dysfunctional relationship beliefs than did those with high dyadic adjustment. It was found that dysfunctional relationship beliefs, including especially beliefs concerning being very close to others in their relationships causing negative consequences, have negative and moderate level correlation with the marital adjustment of males, and negative and very low level correlations were found between marital satisfaction and dysfunctional relationships beliefs. But mind-reading beliefs were positively associated with the marital satisfaction of females. Although there were no significant age or gender differences in dysfunctional relationship beliefs, significant differences were observed in dysfunctional relationship beliefs in terms of the education level of married individuals.