The Comparison of Relationship Satisfaction in Monocultural and Intercultural Couples ()
1. Problem Statement
Individuals have many important relationships, and among them, the marriage relationship continues to be important in their lives and maintains its central position [1] . According to Karney and Bradbury (2020), marriage is no longer a requirement for social acceptance as it used to be, but most couples marry wishing their marriage will be long-lasting and fulfilling [2] . In contrast, in nearly all modern civilizations, marriage may be necessary for full social acceptance. Most people assume that married people are safer and less likely to get into trouble, but the reality is often quite the contrary. On the other hand, it is not clear how the close intimate ties of marriage are maintained over time [2] . According to Carpenter (2018), marriage is an intimate friendship maintained by two people, but some difficulties may arise in the marriage process, which may lead to dissatisfaction in marriage, but on the other hand, raising awareness about marital satisfaction can reduce the incompatibility or dissatisfaction of couples [3] .
Romantic love is a dynamic and psychological process that adapts across cultures, is influenced by cultural beliefs and values, and occurs in different ways around the world, and that is why it is essential to examine the culturally based relationships of an increasing number of intercultural couples [4] . Being in love is a more significant and crucial feature in relational satisfaction than being willing to pick a partner for more rational reasons, and its absence may not be made up for by simple compassion, kindness, and rational justifications [5] . Chebotareva and Volk (2020) argued that the intercultural family, in which different values, cultures, and relations compete and blend together, is a complicated structure in which spouses change, develop, or transform their national and cultural identities and values; and posed that the fact that the spouses are of different religions makes the communication of the couple more difficult, and this difficulty is not so much related to family attitudes and values and roles in the family [6] . Therefore, being in love and trying to maintain it might be more important for intercultural couples than monocultural couples.
Huang et al. (2020) stated that the relationship satisfaction of married couples can differ significantly, and it may be effective in their socioemotional growth [7] . Likewise, marriage dissatisfaction can negatively affect physical and mental health (social isolation) similar to the immune system, and marital distress includes conflicts, behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs that contribute to divorce [3] . In the study of Gandonu and Badejo (2021), a significant difference was found between intercultural married couples and married couples from the same culture in terms of marital satisfaction, and the marital satisfaction of intercultural couples was found to be lower [8] . Therefore, practitioners, psychologists, therapists, and counselors should be aware of the developmental and cultural differences in couples in order to resolve conflicts between cultures [9] , and conflicts in intercultural marriages should be investigated [10] .
According to James Parker (2019), when couples decide to get married, they face the difficulty of combining aspects of their lives that can be a source of distress, and when couples come from different cultures-differences such as socio-political history, norms, values, and social arrangements-may have an impact on the quality of marriage [11] . Intercultural couples from different backgrounds face unique challenges (such as sharing their feelings and thoughts), and this process is highly complex and specific to each couple [8] . Conflict and problems are inevitable in all marriages, this includes intercultural marriages [8] , and understanding the importance of cultural factors in marital satisfaction can increase the effectiveness of preventive measures [3] . Because there is a relationship between culture and marital satisfaction which has an impact on social, physical, cognitive, and emotional development, and this increases the importance of cultural awareness for intercultural couples [11] . The lack of research on intercultural family relationships makes it more challenging to understand these couples psychologically, emotionally, and socially [12] . It is necessary to raise awareness about marital satisfaction that develops depending on the positive developmental aspects of intercultural couples in marriage [8] .
Relationships between couples who do not share the same cultural background are becoming more common worldwide and research is needed on how couples cope with cultural and psychological differences, their psychological well-being, relationship satisfaction, and conflict management; because individuals from different races and ethnicities can use different cultural identities, values, beliefs, and practices from their partners in guiding their relationships, which makes the relationship much more complicated [13] . In the United States as well, the rate of intercultural marriages continues to increase [14] and intercultural conjugal relationships maintain their foundation as an important component of life [15] . Nasr Isfahani et al. (2021), posed that in today’s millennium age, communication has expanded immensely, and the rate of immigration has increased, which also affects family formation and marital relations, and thus, intercultural couple therapy has become a necessity with increasing intercultural marriages; and that with this therapy, counselors can contribute to the reduction of psychological anxiety and marital conflicts of couples and can help strengthen their relationships [16] .
According to Utomo (2020), while two different cultural groups can live in harmony and peace within a certain group, conjugal relations between people of those two groups may not be approved [17] . Intercultural married couples are subject to exclusion and defy societal expectations when performing a social behavior such as marriage without the reward of social approval [18] . Relatedly, it is important to understand the unique experiences and development of each couple within their culture and environment. In order to gain proficiency in an intercultural conjugal relationship, there is a need for research on the relations of intercultural couples on communication skills, personal characteristics and qualities, psychological adjustment, and cultural awareness [11] .
The lack of research on intercultural couples to ensure their individual well-being in social, psychological, marriage satisfaction, and relationship conflicts terms prevent these marriages from being supported and puts the life-long development of both the couples and their future generations at risk. In this sense, we need to better understand intercultural couples so that couples from different cultures can understand each other and maintain their relationship strongly without socio-emotional wear and impact on their future generations. There is a need for studies on intercultural couples’ relationships with each other, their conflict resolution, families, growing up environments, and shared and non-shared beliefs and values that affect marital satisfaction [18] . Therefore, in this study, the answer to the following question will be addressed in the literature: Do intercultural couples have more relationship satisfaction than monocultural couples? Along with this, my hypothesis is intercultural couples have higher marital satisfaction than monoculture couples.
2. Review of Literature
The multicultural and global society of today’s millennium presents challenges that require proficiency in multicultural communication among people [19] . The number of intercultural romantic relationships and their multicultural families is increasing each year in the United States and around the world and understanding the direction of culture and differences in couples’ long-term relationship goals can address the rate of conflicts and relationship imbalance [4] . Intercultural families are an important part of today’s modern society with the mutual influence on society of different cultures and identity development and transformation [6] . The United States immigration rate was up to 25.5 in 2022 [20] and with the highly increasing immigration in well-developed countries every year, studies on the integration of immigrants should include the psychological problems and mental health of intercultural families, their relationship satisfaction, and the effects and changes on the identities of spouses [6] . Having a different cultural background may be a factor in marital satisfaction [21] .
Culture is a structure that determines how we think, act, and feel, and it controls political actions, social relations, norms, values, social structures, economic exchanges, and beliefs in a society-specific way [22] . Rangriz and Harati (2017) stated that social structure, culture, and behavior can influence each other and identify the individual’s worldview perspective [23] . Couples from different cultural backgrounds, in addition to relationship approaches, include familial and cultural expectations, communication styles, norms, values, family dynamics, and the acceptance of the environment by the relationship [13] . According to Chebotareva and Volk (2020), an understanding of cultural and personal values is important in intercultural families, and it is necessary to better understand and facilitate the psychological mechanisms of mutual adaptation and acculturation [6] .
Undoubtedly, relationships are very complex, and many factors affect whether the relationship is maintained or terminated [13] . Couples from different cultures may look at different aspects of family relationships, raising children, personal spaces, or expressing their love, and often the spouses are unaware of the cultural perspective and background, they may report dissatisfaction or problems in the relationship [24] . The findings show that the satisfaction of intercultural relations is affected by psychological well-being, conflict methods, and family acceptance, and these factors are important for intercultural relations as well as for intracultural relations [13] . This suggests that couples from different cultures in my research question are affected by similar factors in the relationship, but it becomes a little more complicated for intercultural couples. This situation requires therapists to become more familiar with cultural differences [24] .
In trying to understand the intertwined interactions between people and their environment, Ecological Systems Theory examines the “influence” on the individual [25] . In accordance with Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems, while people’s mesosystems include before, during, and after intercultural relations, and post-relationship perspectives of individuals; their macrosystems that may affect individuals’ microsystems psychologically, emotionally, socially, or physically include the communication and reactions of the society they live in [26] .
Romantic relationships are often treated as two people but in order to understand couples within and beyond themselves, it is also necessary to analyze the cultural factors indirectly involved in their relationship such as the acceptance of the family [13] . According to Maffini et al. (2022), a relationship often consists of two families intertwining and can be influenced by both family contexts and dynamics [13] . In accordance with Addisu et al. (2017), there are sociocultural and demographic factors that can shape the marital satisfaction of intercultural married couples [21] . Fonseca et al. (2021) argued that there is little empirical work to promote and develop healthy romantic relationships across cultures [4] . Therefore, it will be investigated how the marital satisfaction of intercultural couples changes compared to monocultural couples in this study.
Addisu et al. (2017) evaluated couples’ marital satisfaction and the results of the study revealed various determinants of marital satisfaction [21] . These determinants are conflict resolution, openness between couples, religious orientation, religious background, cultural differences, egalitarian roles, communication, education level, family and friends, type of marriage, interest differences, personality problems, health problems, leisure activities, children and parenthood, number of children, financial management, differences of interest, sexual relationship and sexual adjustment, polygamous marriage, loyalty, Khat chewing, economic background, poverty, ethnicity, age difference, place of birth, early marriage, family intervention, and couples living place [21] . Moreover, the different family culture grown could also be influential in the relationship because families that are open to new cultures tend to communicate about different points of view or disagreements and support the relationship [13] . Fonseca et al. (2021) emphasized the similarity in the understanding of intercultural couples in their relationships and argued that relationship quality can be improved, and marital satisfaction can increase [4] . This study revealed that even if the individual is brought up with culturally different values-such as norms, language, holidays, rituals, and food can adapt to the partner through acculturation and that similarities in relationship goals, expressing love, and resolving conflicts can increase relationship satisfaction, which justifies my research question. Cultural conditioning can automatically take a position in the relationship, but couples are expected to be conscious of these issues, increase their sharing, set their relationship goals, and increase their marital satisfaction, according to my research question. Relatedly, intercultural couples have higher consistency in the quality of their relationships than monocultural families, which is a sign of more open communication and family involvement [6] . Likewise, the results of Fonseca et al. (2021)’s study revealed that intercultural couples could have stronger relationships when they share their relationship goals [4] .
Intercultural couples saw their relationships as an atmosphere of learning and self-development, and this includes being open to family expectations, questioning, self-expression, self-disclosure, and self-reflection [24] . According to my research question, when couples from different cultures are flexible, open-minded, empathetic, interested, and empathetic towards each other, when couples consider their partner’s point of view and establish open communication, they can develop different and healthier communication than monocultural couples’ suppositional and uniform relationships [24] . Foncesa et al. (2021) also argued that intercultural couples can increase their relationship quality and trust by gaining awareness and change towards their goals in their relationships and by transforming individual goals into couple goals [4] . In addition, greater life satisfaction and constructive conflict styles of intercultural partners bring more relationship satisfaction [13] . Conflicts can be overcome with more communication, sharing, and participation, more consistency predicted more secure attachment of couples [6] .
According to Boratav et al. (2021), while monocultural couples tend to maintain relationships based on assumptions because most values are similar, intercultural couples are curious about each other, show cultural tolerance and respect, see their spouse as a unique individual, and try to adapt to each other’s lifestyles, value independence, and individuality emphasizes gender role equality, and are quite emphatic, flexible, and open-minded [24] . Similarly, Addisu et al. (2017) also emphasized the importance of openness, concern for each other, shared religious values, and the place of parents in marriage for relationship satisfaction [21] . Intercultural couples see the diversity of cultural values and beliefs in their relationships as an opportunity for richness and personal growth and discovery of new areas because couples try to enrich the relationship by exploring, asking, and wondering about each other’s worldview, ideals, and ideals in order to maintain a more satisfying relationship [24] . In this regard, intercultural couples may have higher romantic relationship satisfaction. Because intercultural couples’ communication with each other with similar values can minimize the problems arising from their cultural differences in general, and their cultural characteristics can enrich their relationships [21] . Furthermore, spouses from different cultures are more consistent about their family life and find the most appropriate way despite challenges in assessing and comparing their values, culture, and family attitudes [6] .
Fonseca et al. (2021) analyzed the relationship functioning between intercultural couples and provided empirical support for the similarities of intercultural couples who can adapt to each other and increase relationship satisfaction rather than their differences [4] . The role of familial experiences and individual differences are more significant rather than cultural differences in their relationships [24] . On the other hand, the fact that the intercultural couples are similar in terms of age, socioeconomic level, religious attitudes, and education level, in addition to reporting similarities in personality and values, may have minimized the effect of cultural differences [24] . In accordance with Addisu et al. (2017), education, economic status, and type of marriage (love marriage or arranged marriage) were associated with relationship satisfaction [21] . On the other hand, normative values for intercultural couples gain more importance than for monocultural couples and as the cultural distance increases, spouses’ commitment to normative values also increases [6] . In addition, the results of Maffini et al. (2022)’s study revealed that relationship length does not affect marital satisfaction and conflict management, rather, psychological well-being and conflict management are important factors in relationship satisfaction [13] . The majority of intercultural couples’ conflicts may originate from their inability to adapt to new habits or lifestyles, as well as their yearning for their previous lives. Mood disorders, such as anxiety or depression, should be taken into consideration for the well-being of the intercultural couples and their offspring. This increases the importance of cultural factors and shows that coming from a different culture affects relationship satisfaction and that every relationship is unique and dynamic.
In the study by Fonseca et al. (2021), it was argued that culture and ethnicity are effective in the relationship goals of intercultural couples and that active and passive perceived partner sensitivity mediates relationship goals and quality [4] . Intercultural couples may be individuals with more similar characteristics, values, interests, economic, educational levels, gender roles, and religiously similar attitudes, as they make love marriages and choose their spouses themselves [21] . According to Fonseca et al. (2021), intercultural couples may tend to maintain their relationship with situations that they are culturally accustomed to or conditioned at the beginning of the relationship, and the similarity of cultural beliefs and values between spouses can help resolve conflicts [4] . Relatedly, Boratav et al. (2021) conducted a study with intercultural couples (women from Turkey, and men from other countries) between the ages of 22 and 43, married or living together for at least six months and differing in ethnicity, mother tongue, religion, and culture; and they examined culture’s interaction with romantic relationships [24] . Participants in the study stated that they felt similar rather than different in their relationships, which in turn increased their empathetic communication and thus their marital satisfaction. These reconciliation strategies and greater communications might be beneficial for greater spousal support in a stressful situation when there is no family approval [13] .
Maffini et al. (2022) stated that there is a significant relationship between family acceptance and relationship satisfaction and conflict management styles (constructive or destructive) [13] . Because when one’s family accepts their spouse, they can value the relationship more, and more constructive conflict management forms can be made thanks to family support [13] . On the contrary, they asserted that individuals whose family does not approve of their spouse can invest less in the relationship and use less constructive conflict methods [13] . In the study of Boratav et al. (2021), believing in religion or not was associated with culture, it was found that the similarity of belief in religion between partners increased the quality of the relationship, and it was revealed that if the family of the spouses was conservative, they received less support that negatively affects their relationships [24] . The same study also showed that family structures can direct the relationship of couples, emphasizing the cultural structure of the family. Fonseca et al. (2021) demonstrated that the similarity of values and cultural beliefs such as religion in the relationship goals of the partners between themselves, rather than their own race, ethnicity, or cultural background, were influential in their relationships [4] . In the same way, the results of the study by Chebotareva and Volk (2020) showed that those with a common religion in intercultural families had significantly higher marital satisfaction than other families, while those multi-religious couples had the lowest marital satisfaction [6] .
Chebotareva and Volk (2020) analyzed the differences in marital satisfaction between monocultural and intercultural couples and their findings revealed that the life values of intercultural couples were less in common than monocultural couples [6] . According to the study, the life values of intercultural couples are less congruent, but the life values of partners with a common religion become more complementary than contradictory [6] , having a shared religion in intercultural families increases marital satisfaction. This, similar to the previous study [4] , linked the similarity aspect with religion and the similarities of the partners were emphasized. However, almost all of the participants stated that they did not have the basic characteristics of the culture in which they were brought up and reported themselves as non-religious or not practicing the necessity of religion [6] . In addition, they all interacted professionally or educationally with different cultural settings, and all these suggest that differences in culture and religion are less likely to harm satisfaction in the relationship in this condition [24] .
Although the marital satisfaction of couples from different cultures is lower [6] , intercultural couples are more open to cultural curiosity, knowledge, innovation, tolerance, and normalizing differences in their relationships [24] . It makes their marital satisfaction different from monocultural couples and they can get more out of their relationships than monocultural couples within the framework of individual differences respect and relationship richness. Because by developing the skills of discussing cultural differences in intercultural couples’ relations, they gain aspects that can increase relationship satisfaction such as empathy, effective communication, and mutual acceptance. At the same time, they attach importance to maintaining individuality in the relationship [24] . In particular, the openness of spouses to each other, communication, conflict resolution, empathy, similarity of interest, common religious belief, and family acceptance were emphasized in all studies. To answer my research question here, we see that intercultural couples can be affected by the same factors as monocultural couples, but when we combine their cultural richness with the right communication styles, more marital satisfaction, and a richer and more productive relationship can be achieved. A person’s social position in society (including race and culture) can affect their interactions in other contexts, such as marriage, and conflicts may arise from culture, values, or belief systems [27] . In addition, Halford et al. (2018) state that if intercultural couples live in a different majority culture, which increases adaptation by increasing partner similarity with the effect of acculturation, but there is little information in the literature on acculturation and intercultural couples [28] .
More detailed studies are needed by analyzing the relationship satisfaction of intercultural couples with quantitative and qualitative studies to understand their relationship dynamics and their adaptation. Comparative studies can also help experts to figure out differences in their relationship. Because studies of values and attitudes, marital adjustment, and marital satisfaction of intercultural partners show conflicting results, comparative analyzes of intercultural couples are important to resolve these contradictions [6] .
3. Conclusion
Unlike monocultural couples, the available literature has been insufficient to identify the difficulties faced by intercultural couples and the problems they cope with. This hinders the development of prevention and intervention programs for intercultural couples. There are some gaps and discrepancies that reveal new questions. Fonseca et al. (2021) emphasized the positive effect of similarity in relationship goals, partner sensitivity, and acculturation level on marital satisfaction, but new questions arose here [4] . For example, it is unclear whether similarity in relationship goals predicts similarity in child-rearing goals. Likewise, whether the level of acculturation (study abroad, immigration, business trips) affects relationship quality is ambiguous. In another contradiction, Chebotareva and Volk (2020), revealed that intercultural couples use more open communication and interaction and show more consistency than monocultural couples [6] . However, the same study revealed that intercultural couples have lower marital satisfaction, and the reasons (other than the family acceptance or religion) that lower the satisfaction level of intercultural couples who establish better communication styles than monocultural couples leave a question mark. Apart from that, Boratav et al. (2021) emphasized the ability of intercultural couples to discuss cultural differences and empathic abilities [24] , while Maffini et al. (2022) introduced the constructive conflict style, and common religion has been the determinant in most studies [13] . Therefore, it is another matter of whether having a shared religion influences the ability of intercultural couples to argue, empathize, and conflict. Higher levels of openness, extroversion, and conscientiousness in cross-cultural couples may be due to their greater openness to each other’s differences, and they may be good at resolving conflicts and in relationships with their partners [9] . If so, there is a question of why intercultural couples do have lower marital satisfaction than monocultural couples.
4. Suggestions for Future Research
Insufficient literature on the relationship satisfaction of intercultural couples may leave psychologists, counselors, and social workers incapable of identifying the difficulties intercultural couples face. Especially as the inconsistency between intercultural families increases [13] , difficulties in marital satisfaction can be expected. Understanding cultural functioning in marriage can help to use cultural differences as a resource [6] . Individuals from different cultural backgrounds cope with cultural differences in their romantic relationships, difficulties in their relationships, individual differences, and incompatibilities in their relationships. Therefore, the effects of different cultural backgrounds on their psychological health should be investigated. Studies on these issues will support the individual, couple, and family development of intercultural couples.
More detailed studies are needed to analyze the relationship satisfaction of intercultural couples with quantitative studies and to evaluate the results in comparison with monocultural couples. Similarly, comparative studies can look at how intercultural couples differ from monocultural couples in terms of conflict resolution, spousal support, common values, and roles in the home. In addition, knowledge of experiences can be obtained from children of multicultural couples. Longitudinal studies can also provide an opportunity to evaluate different phases of the life and relationship cycles of intercultural couples. Longitudinal studies can be conducted to evaluate whether there is a change in family attitudes of intercultural couples whose relationships are not approved by their families when they have a child and whether the couple’s marital relationship has changed. The effect of common religion on shaping marital satisfaction has been emphasized in the studies [4] [6] and it should be investigated to what extent religious differences of opinion are related to the cause or resolution of conflicts in marriage. When it is understood at which stage religious values are more important, relationship counselors can more easily analyze the relationships of intercultural couples.
To help advance the field, I suggest these research questions:
• How do intercultural couples differ from monocultural couples in terms of conflict resolution, spousal support, and roles in the home?
• How do family support and marital satisfaction change when intercultural couples have children?
• What are the differences in child-rearing practices of intercultural couples compared to monocultural couples?
• What is the experience of children of intercultural couples regarding the relationship of their parents?
• Can intercultural couples’ participation in a prevention and intervention program increase marital satisfaction?
• To what extent are religious differences related to the cause and resolution of marital conflicts?
These questions can be analyzed with data from couples from different cultural backgrounds. Intercultural couples are easier to reach, especially in cosmopolitan cities, and face-to-face interviews, interview forms, or questionnaires can be used to assess questions. The results of the research provide a perspective that experts can see the situations in that intercultural couples sometimes do not even understand themselves, due to their cultural upbringing. In addition, studies aimed at increasing the relationship satisfaction of intercultural couples; contribute to their well-being, socio-emotional development, and to the growth of their children in a more peaceful family environment. Apart from that, a higher quality romantic relationship can play a role as a complement to the support that intercultural couples do not receive approval from their environment. It would be beneficial to focus on studies that will increase the effectiveness of intercultural couple therapies.