Attributions and Relationship Satisfaction in an Arab American Population

,


Introduction
Within relationships, spouses often make attributions regarding their partners' actions to explain behavior causes.These perceptions have a notable impact on relationship outcomes, including relationship satisfaction (Fincham et al. 1987;Bradbury and Fincham 1990;Jacobson et al. 1985).Although the literature surrounding couples has been growing, the Arab American population has often been excluded from this field.In fact, a systematic review of relationship research found that the average sample among 771 studies between the years 2014 and 2018 was White, American, and 30 years old (Williamson et al. 2022).The present study aims to address attributions made by Arab partners and the association with relationship satisfaction and psychological distress.In the context of increased distress and divorce in Arab couples, unpacking relationship dynamics may serve as an important avenue to offer culturally competent care and resources to Arab couples in the US who may be struggling.

Arab Marriage and Relationship Functioning
Within Arab communities, the institution of marriage is often seen as sacred (Amer 2023).The bond created by a marriage is seen as more than the legal connection between two individuals; the connection services a deeper linkage between two families, creating deep ties of kinship and a sense of belonging within the larger community (Alqashan 2008).Researchers have also described the Arab family as generally patriarchal, where men are primarily responsible for the family's economic support and women are esteemed for their child-rearing and domestic roles (Amer 2023).In general, marriage is the central component to a highly valued larger family unit where culture and/or religion provide expectations for interactions.
There have been a number of studies that have been aimed at measuring relationship satisfaction and relationship functioning in couples in the Middle East.Balderrama-Durbin et al. (2011) validated the Arabic version of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory (revised) in a sample of couples in Qatar and found a similar structure of factors in US and Arab couples.Isanezhad et al. (2012) created the Persian version of the revised-DAS and found a three-factor solution of cohesion, closeness, and satisfaction that fit the measure best.Additionally, Al-Darmaki et al. (2016) developed the Emirati Marital Satisfaction Scale and showed that this measure was associated with life satisfaction and self-esteem in couples in the UAE.This study found that determinants of marital satisfaction fell onto one factor and that relationship satisfaction was "culturally bound."Although studies such as these provide an initial glimpse into relationship functioning in Arab communities, much of this work has been dominated by Western ideas of satisfaction and relationship dynamics (Al-Darmaki et al. 2016).
Although not well understood, an indeterminate link between culture and relationship satisfaction is important to highlight as if a couple does not choose to divorce, marital conflict or discord may be suffered for a number of years, potentially wreaking havoc on one or both partners' health and general well-being (Baker 2003).Making this link more complex is the changing landscape of the modern trends of social interaction, with individual autonomy and equality being buttressed against traditional roles for spouses and marriage in general (Rashad et al. 2020).In the context of significant rises in divorce and marital discord (Alqashan 2007(Alqashan , 2008;;Sabour Esmaeili and Schoebi 2017), it is pivotal that researchers start to dismantle relationship functioning within Arab couples to provide culturally sensitive couple-based care.Professional marital therapy is often not considered due to fear or the potential for a therapist tomisunderstand cultural and/or religious beliefs (Chapman and Cattaneo 2013;Ahmed and Reddy 2007).Further, couples are encouraged to keep any relationship matters within the family as discord "spreads the pain" and may be looked down upon by other family members (Tadros et al. 2022).The current paucity of research regarding this population leaves unanswered questions about whether spousal attributions (as one form of relationship dynamics) would have effects on marital satisfaction or health for Arab couples.Being able to adapt currently available treatments to a more culturally/religious sensitive treatment may also help to reduce some stigma associated with mental health or couple-based treatment interventions (Alqashan 2008).

Arab American Couples
Prior to 2020, there was no category in the Census Bureau to accurately collect information about the Arab American population despite the Arab American population having grown by approximately 30% over the past decade (Arab American Institute 2024).Despite there being more than three million Arab Americans in the US and a continued call for greater diversity in relationship research, Arab Americans remain an especially understudied population (Stephan 2021), emphasizing the need for more research into this population and their couple dynamics.
Arab Americans may need particular attention to their relationship functioning as these couples may face greater conflict between the intersecting views of the traditional Arab marriage and Westernized views of marriage and couple dynamics (Al-Krenawi and Jackson 2014).Research has identified differences in the problem areas in marriage as reported by men and women (Chapman and Cattaneo 2013); whereas women endorse finances, differences in cultural views, and in-laws as issues in a marriage, men reported more concerns related to their spouse's desire to be independent.
For Arab American families, the gender roles/beliefs can also be quite varied in terms of flexibility, and variables such as acculturation or time in the US may be important to consider (Cainkar and Read 2014).Khan et al. (2021), for instance, found generational differences in the perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Arab American couples.In their interviews with Arab Americans, 1.5-and 2nd-generation Arab Americans were perceived to receive more support from within the community for disclosing IPV and felt that survivors of IPV can seek support from family, friends, and religious leaders, as compared to first-generation Arab Americans.Consistent with traditional cultural/religious roles, Arab Americans frequently have close ties to extended family and more traditional gender roles/beliefs than some non-Arab Americans.It has been suggested that the behaviors of Arab American women tend to hold more meaning than men, which may directly impact one's marriage or attributions towards a spouse's behavior (Cainkar and Read 2014).Research has also shown that Arab women are less likely to seek therapeutic services, possibly due to the fact that they traditionally carry more of the family's honor and disclosing private concerns to someone outside the family is generally viewed as dishonorable (Tadros et al. 2022).However, even in the context of more Westernized views of gender, these standards may have a subconscious impact on relationship attributions, relationship satisfaction, and psychological distress.Findings such as these highlight the need to enhance research on this growing population which would then trickle down to clinical applications.

Types of Attributions
Spouses may make two different types of attributions about their partners' behavior, which can be grouped into causality and responsibility.Attributions of causality aim to ascertain the cause of the event, and they fall into three categories: locus of control, globality, and stability (Abramson et al. 1978).The dimension of the locus of control includes "internal" and "external" factors.The internal locus of control is the belief that outcomes are caused by the person, and the external locus of control is the belief that outcomes are caused by external factors, such as fate or luck (Abramson et al. 1978).Moreover, a spouse may make global or specific attributions about their partners' behavior.If a partner's behavior is attributed as global, then the behavior is likely to occur in a broad range of scenarios.If attributed as specific, then the behavior would occur particularly in that situation (Abramson et al. 1978).Lastly, a spouse may attribute the partner's behavior to either stable or unstable causes: stable causes are long-lasting or recurring, and unstable causes are short-lived (Abramson et al. 1978).
The second category of attributions is responsibility, which aims to ascertain who or what is accountable or at fault for the behavior (Bradbury and Fincham 1990).Responsibility attributions are further divided into three categories: motivation, intent, and blame (Bradbury and Fincham 1990).Motivation is when a spouse perceives her partner's behavior to be due to selfish or unselfish motivations (Bradbury and Fincham 1990).When processing the behavior, a spouse may also perceive her partner's actions as intentional or unintentional.Lastly, partners can attribute their spouse as blameworthy for the behavior (Abramson et al. 1978;Bradbury and Fincham 1990;Fincham et al. 1987).

Relationship Satisfaction and Attributions
Cognitive factors have been found to play an important role in marriage quality, and couples who experience marital distress can encounter profound consequences in terms of their mental and physical health (Bradbury and Fincham 1990;Fincham et al. 1987).When examining relationship satisfaction, couples are often measured as distressed or non-distressed depending on the frequency of agreements and disagreements on various issues, including finances, religion, goals, and demonstrations of affection (Spanier 1976).
In past research, it has been found that in distressed couples, spouses make causal and responsibility attributions that are likely to increase the impact of negative events in the relationship and decrease the impact of positive events (Bradbury and Fincham 1990;Fincham et al. 1987).Additionally, in distressed couples, research has shown that partners' positive behaviors are attributed to an external locus and caused by factors unstable and specific to the situation.Distressed couples also tend to attribute positive behavior by their partners as committed unintentionally, with negative intent, and with selfish motivations (Bradbury and Fincham 1990;Fincham et al. 1987).Non-distressed couples have been shown to attribute behavior differently.Jacobson et al. (1985) found that non-distressed couples were more likely to credit their partners for positive behavior and dismiss negative behavior, contrary to the attributions of distressed couples.

The Current Study
Given the unique intersection that Arab American couples may find themselves in, coupled with increasing rates of relationship dissolution/divorce, it is imperative that researchers take a deeper dive into Arab American marriages.With the foundation of work on spousal attribution, this study sought to examine whether attributions in romantic relationships were associated with relationship satisfaction among this population.We aimed to address the limitations of the current literature by including only Arab Americans to better understand factors that may be associated with better relationship outcomes in this understudied group.

Participants
Data were gathered from a local community service organization in the Metro Detroit area.In total, data were collected from 150 individuals, but only 142 participants ended up meeting eligibility upon further review.In order to be eligible for the study, participants needed to be: 18 years of age or older, self-identify as Arab American, English-speaking, and currently married or been cohabiting with a partner for a minimum of two years.The individuals who were excluded were either not currently in a relationship (divorced, separated, or widowed) or they were in a relationship that was not cohabiting.
Demographic information for the sample can be found in Table 1.As can be seen, the majority of the sample was female (n = 113) and well educated.The sample was overwhelmingly (n = 131, 92%) Muslim in religious affiliation and over half of participants immigrated to the US with 20.60 (SD = 10.78) years on average in the US.The majority of the same were married (n = 126, 89%) and the average relationship duration was over 12 years.Only 14 (9.9%) participants endorsed some sort of pre-marital counseling.Note: The majority of participants identified with a binary gender, therefore data were presented for males and females only.

Demographic Information
In order to collect data regarding the demographics of the sample, participants were asked demographic questions regarding age, race/ethnicity, English proficiency, duration of cohabiting with partner, gender identity, education level, religion, and relationship length.

Relationship Attribution Measure
The Relationship Attribution Measure (RAM; (Fincham and Bradbury 1992)) was used to test for varying attribution dimensions of partner behaviors in relationships.Partners in cohabiting relationships were asked to envision their partners in multiple scenarios: "Your spouse criticizes something you say; Your spouse begins to spend less time with you; Your spouse does not pay attention to what you are saying; Your spouse is cool and distant."Partners were then asked to subsequently rate their level of agreement with different attribution statements on a 6-point Likert scale (from disagree strongly to agree strongly).These attribution statements were indicative of either causal attributions (locus, stability, and globality) or responsibility attributions (intent, motivation, and blame).

Dyadic Adjustment Scale
Relationship satisfaction was assessed using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS; Spanier 1976).This scale is composed of 32 items that measure agreement on a variety of topics, including finances, worldview, degree of affection, and general relationship happiness.This scale utilizes a range of 0-151 with higher scores, indicating greater relationship satisfaction.In the current study, the items of the DAS have been slightly modified for use to ensure that it was more inclusive for participants who are in committed relationships but who were not married.The DAS was shown to have excellent reliability in the current study (α = 0.93).The dyadic consensus subscale consisted of 13 items (α = 0.93), the dyadic satisfaction subscale consisted of 10 items (α = 0.81), the dyadic cohesion subscale consisted of 5 items (α = 0.83), and the affective expression subscale consisted of 4 items (α = 0.62).

Patient Health Questionnaire
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ; (Spitzer 1994)), a fifty-nine-item questionnaire, is a self-report measure used to screen for various mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, alcohol/substance use, and eating disorders.The measure covers a variety of symptoms that may present themselves as physical or psychological.The measure has been shown to have strong reliability and validity (Spitzer 1999).The PHQ was shown to have good reliability within the current study (α = 0.78).In order to obtain a broad picture of physical and mental health, three subscales were utilized in the current study: physical pain, depression, and anxiety.The physical pain subscale consisted of 13 items (α = 0.85), the depression subscale consisted of 9 items (α = 0.92), and the anxiety subscale consisted of 8 items (α = 0.70).

Procedure
In order to protect the privacy of the potential research participants, the study staff became acquainted with the staff of the service agency who then introduced the study staff to participants.The research staff became acquainted with the staff of the service agency who instead introduced the research staff to participants.At the time of introduction, research staff escorted the potential participant into a room where the study could be described using a pre-written script.At the end of the script, research assistants asked participants if they would be interested in participating in the study.
At that time, the participants were screened for eligibility, consent was obtained, and potential participants were given an envelope with the study measures.When participants completed the survey, they were instructed to put their completed questionnaires in the envelope to protect their privacy.It should be noted that there was a critical item relating to self-harm on the PHQ that was checked by research staff to ensure that participants were not actively at risk for imminent danger when they completed the study.After this item was checked, the participant was debriefed and compensated for their time and effort.

Researcher Reflexivity
The authors understand that the work that we undertake can be influenced by our own lived experience.Throughout the study (e.g., data collection, analysis, manuscript preparation), members on the team are a mix of those in committed relationships and those who are currently single.Several team members identify as Arab American and as sexual/gender minority individuals and have personal experience within these communities.We appreciate that this work was carried out through the lens of our individual and shared experiences.

Results
Prior to data analysis, data were checked for outliers and normalcy of the distribution.There were six outliers on the DAS (scores ranging from 27-58).In order to maintain the sample size for the current study, analyses were run with and without these outliers and the same pattern of results emerged; therefore, these data were left included in the analyses of the current study.
Results showed that there was no significant differences between men and women in the current study for relationship satisfaction (t (136) = −1.41,p =.08).There were also no significant differences between men and women regarding general casual or responsibility attributions.The examination of the subscales, however, showed that there was a significant difference between men and women in terms of locus attributions (t (128) = 2.08, p <.05), where women reported higher levels (M = 13.13,SD = 5.09) than men (M = 10.80,SD = 4.01).
In order to understand how the impact of immigration influenced relationship satisfaction and attributions of one's spouse, analyses were conducted between those participants who had spent their whole lives in the US and those who immigrated to the US.There was not a significant difference between those who immigrated to the US or those who had spent their whole lives in the US on overall relationship satisfaction (t (123) = 1.43, p =.08.Moreover, there was only a significant difference on the RAM (stability subscale; t (107) = 1.75, p <.05), showing that participants who spent their whole life in the US (M= 10.17, SD = 4.81) reported fewer stability attributions than those who immigrated to the US (M = 8.54, SD = 4.17).As the amount of time in the US may be more meaningful in terms of simple immigration status, the percentage of each participant's life in the US was calculated for those who had immigrated.On average, participants had been in the US 47.39% (SD = 22.92%) of their lives.The examination of the percentage of someone's life in the US also showed similar results, with the only significant correlation being between stability and percentage of life in the US (r = −0.25,p <.05).
The average DAS score was 110.70 (SD = 23.85).Although there had been some discussion of the use of "cut-off scores" for distress in the literature, it has been suggested that a score of less than 107 on the DAS indicates significant relationship distress (Crane et al. 1990).Based on these criteria, 36% (n = 54) of the respondents fell within the distressed range.Independent samples t-tests showed that there were significant differences between the distressed and non-distressed participants in all attributions (for means and standard deviations, see Table 2).Correlations between attributions, both the global categories of responsibility and causal attributions as well as the specific facets of these categories, show that there were significant negative associations between attributions and relationship satisfaction (see Table 3).Additionally, Table 3 highlights the significant positive associations between causal attributions, specifically attributions of stability and globality to depression.Both depression and anxiety were significantly positively associated with all of the responsibility attributions.However, the only causal attribution that was positively associated with anxiety was stability.To understand the overall effects of spousal attributions on distress and dissatisfaction, linear regression analyses were conducted with each of the attribution types predicting distress and dissatisfaction.The model predicting relationship satisfaction included each of the six causal and responsibility attributions.Overall the model was significant (F(6, 107) = 17.11, p < .001)and accounted for approximately 49% of the variance in relationship satisfaction.As can be seen in Table 4, however, only attributions of globality and motivation were significant predictors of relationship satisfaction in the sample.For the regression predicting depression, the overall model was significant (F(5, 103) =2.31, p = .05)and 10% of the variance in depression was accounted for with spousal attributions.Interestingly, however, when all attributions were entered into the model, none revealed themselves to be a statistically significant predictor of depression.The model for anxiety included only stability and the three responsibility attributions (i.e., intent, motivation, and blame).The model was not statistically significant, (F(4, 72) = 2.31, p = .16),and the interpretation of the individual predictors was not appropriate.

Discussion
Arab American couples are neglected in the study of relationships, despite the growth of this minority group in the US.Moreover, little is known about relationship dynamics that could serve as potential targets for couple-based interventions.Cultural beliefs and traditions within the Arab community that tend to be more family-oriented with traditional gender views may impact spouse behavioral attributions and how these attributions are associated with relationships and individual well-being.Therefore, the current study aimed to examine how couples' attributions, and which types of attributions, are associated with relationship satisfaction and psychological distress in an effort to inform culturally sensitive treatment approaches.
Data were collected from a community-based sample of married individuals.Interestingly, there were overall significant differences in relationship satisfaction between men and women, despite some findings that women report lower levels of relationship satisfaction (e.g., Al-Darmaki et al. 2016).In addition, there was no significant difference in relationship satisfaction between those who had immigrated to the US (or the percentage of their lives) and those who had lived in the US their entire lives, which may be related to the sample being collected from an area with one of the highest densities of Arab Americans in the US.It could be that the stress of conflicting cultural norms does not impact overall relationship satisfaction within this community, as the Arab culture and beliefs about marriage are not as challenged as they may be within other geographic areas in the US.
Alarmingly, however, an examination of the data showed that nearly 1⁄2 of the sample would fall within the distressed range using traditional cutoff scores on the measure of relationship satisfaction.This was surprising as other studies have found lower rates of marital dissatisfaction using a taxometric approach (Whisman et al. 2008).Moreover, the rates of dissatisfaction were surprising in this Arab American sample as Chapman and Cattaneo (2013) reported that their sample was generally satisfied in their marriages.These findings not only emphasize the need for more research regarding the dynamics of Arab Americans' relationships but also couple-based interventions that can address distressed Arab American couples in a culturally competent manner.
In terms of spousal attributions, only one specific attribution type had significant gender differences: overall, women reported greater locus attributions than men.This suggests that women tend to attribute their partners' behavior to their partners' personality or characteristics rather than the influence of external factors.This is an interesting finding as other studies have suggested that there were not any gender differences on the causal (to which the locus subscale belongs) attributions (Ellison et al. 2016).However, these studies are often not conducted with diverse samples.The results also found that participants who had lived their whole life in the US tended to make less stability attributions for their partners' behavior.This may reflect a more general sense of collectivism and cultural standards of behavior where spouses are expected to act respectfully and lovingly toward their spouse, while more Westernized views allow for a greater sense of flexibility in terms of individual change (Amer 2023).These findings may, in part, guide interventions for Arab American couples as attributional flexibility has been directly linked to marital outcome in other minority groups (Dreifuss 2010).
Importantly, overall relationship attributions were associated with relationship satisfaction as each of the different types of attributions, independent of causal and responsibility categorization, were associated with satisfaction.This is not entirely surprising given the solid foundation of research that has demonstrated this link (for review see Fincham 2001).This is also consistent with other studies of culturally diverse samples (e.g., Sabourin et al. 1991;Stander et al. 2001) such as in a Chinese population sample (Cao et al. 2019), which revealed the functions that attributions have in negative relationship outcomes for couples with neurotic partners.Although some studies have found that responsibility attributions seem to be more predictive of relationship satisfaction (Davey et al. 2001), this was not the case in the current study.Post hoc r-to-z transformation on the association between responsibility and causal attributions was not significant (z = 1.04, p = 0.15), suggesting that for Arab American spouses, there may be less of a distinction between the two when viewing spousal behavior.
When each of the RAM subscales were included in the regression model, only globality and motivation remained significantly associated with relationship satisfaction.These subscales describe the spouse's behavior as consistent across contexts, along with the beliefs that their spouse is acting out of self-interest rather than dyadically.The significant association between the globality subscale and relationship satisfaction may suggest that spousal behavior is driven by more traditional Arab cultural norms.Specifically, prioritizing family, adhering to gender roles, or valuing the sanctity of marriage may contribute to beliefs that could result in specific behavioral choices in marriage which would not vary across situations.As noted above, this may be reflective of a cultural incongruence between a more collectivistic and individualistic viewpoint.In collectivist cultures, individuals tend to prioritize the well-being of the group (or relationship) over the individual.Consequently, individuals from collectivist cultures who attribute higher levels of dyadic motivation to their partners' behaviors may experience greater satisfaction in their relationships as they may view their partners' behavior as aligned with shared goals and the collective good.While Arab culture is often described as predominantly collectivistic, where familial obligations play a role in marriage satisfaction, recent studies on the Arab American experience provide a more detailed and nuanced perspective on race, gender relations, and sexuality (Hofstede et al. 2010;El-Kassem et al. 2023).Other research has also begun to address the stigma of therapy among Arab American couples with actionable information.For instance, Tadros et al. (2022) provides recommendations for how clinicians can destigmatize therapy for Arab American couples by increasing the knowledge on how culture plays a role in the functioning of Arab American relationships.
Not only did findings from the current study highlight the types of couple attributions that may impact relationship functioning, but attributions were also associated with psychological distress in the current sample.Although depressive symptoms were associated with both causal and responsibility attributions for one's partner's behavior, anxiety was only associated with responsibility attributions.The link between attributions and depression is not entirely surprising because as early as 1985, Brewin (1985) found that attributions may be associated with recovery and coping with depression.Although it may be that attributions of one's partner's behaviors are associated with later depressive symptoms, past research has suggested attributions serve as the mediating factor between relationship satisfaction and depression (Ellison et al. 2016).It is also possible that there would be a reciprocal association between attributions and mood states where someone may make more problematic attributions based on mood consistent with models of learned helplessness (Abramson et al. 1978).To truly untangle these associations among Arab American couples, a longitudinal study would need to be conducted with this group.It is likely there is a complex interplay amongst these variables, and this would explain why only associations between attributions and psychological distress were only found at the bivariate level.Not surprisingly, psychological distress was also associated with marital dissatisfaction in the sample in the expected direction.The association between marital distress and depressive symptoms has been robustly found in the literature among many groups (Jenkins et al. 2020;Neff and Schluter 1994;Wong and Penner 2018), consistent with the marital discord model of depression (Beach et al. 1990).
Despite these important findings, there were a few limitations in this study.Firstly, the majority of the sample population was Muslim in faith, and this did not allow for comparison to other religious affiliations.Research trends suggest that many Muslims turn to religion or extended family in times of marital or psychological distress, but this may be dependent on their level of devoutness or sense of a greater community, respectively.As such, these scales may be useful in future research for identifying whether participants attributed their partners' behaviors due to certain religious beliefs or cultural beliefs instead.Oftentimes, religiosity and culture are conflated.For example, gender roles that require women to complete all the housework may be falsely associated with religious values.In actuality, such roles are actually derived from some traditional Arab cultural values (Rashad et al. 2020).Secondly, the sample of Arab Americans was recruited through a convenience sampling method utilized at a local community organization.Thirdly, only one partner of a couple was required to complete the questionnaire, rather than both parties.Future couple research could consider having both perspectives of the couple about the attributions they make about each other.It may be that couples who are more congruent in their attributions experience less negative relationship "fall out" than those who are incongruent (Holtzworth-Munroe and Jacobson 1985).Further, only heterosexual Arab American couples participated.Future research can explore how attributions may be reflected differently in Arab American couples of different sexualities and how mood may also be impacted in their dynamics.This is particularly salient as LGBTQ Arab Americans may find themselves at a unique intersectionality with not only their Arab heritage but also with the Westernized ideas of the US and approaches to relationships (Mansour 2021).Lastly, the sample population consisted predominantly of women.Although this does not negate the importance of this study's findings, as noted above, the gender roles for men and women differ in Arab relationships and continued research in this area is needed.
This study highlighted the role that negative attributional beliefs about why their spouse may treat them a certain way plays for Arab Americans.Moreover, this study is one of the first to demonstrate a link between attributions, mood, and relationship satisfaction among this understudied population.Culturally inclusive treatments of marital dissatisfaction are needed as well as the need for dyadic treatments for psychological distress for this community.Increasing resources for culturally sensitive marital support and decreasing any stigma associated with such therapy is necessary to improve the relationships and lives of Arab Americans.

Table 2 .
Mean Differences on Attributions.

Table 3 .
Correlations between RAM Attributions, Relationship Satisfaction, and Psychological Distress.

Table 4 .
Regression Coefficients Predicting Relationship Satisfaction and Depression.