The Relation of Marital Adjustment and Family Functions With Quality of Life in Women

Given the immense importance of marital relationships in the quality of life, this research was conducted in order to investigate the relationships between marital adjustment and family functions with quality of life in women. The design of the current study was correlational. Seven hundred and thirty women were selected randomly among all women living in the province of Western Azerbaijan (Iran) and participated in this study. The sample responded to the Family Assessment Device, Dyadic Adjustment scale and Quality of Life questionnaire, individually in their homes. Collected data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression tests. The results showed that all dimensions of family functions and dyadic adjustment were positively correlated with quality of life in women. Results of multiple regression also revealed that 33 percent of total quality of life can be explained by family functions and 24 percent of this variable can be explained by dyadic adjustment. Our study demonstrated that women’s quality of life was affected by family functions and marital adjustment in family.

with any quality of life sub-scores. Trudel and Goldfarb (2010) found that Satisfying marital functioning protects against the development of psychological distress but is also a factor related to depression and anxiety, in this study the link between marital distress and depression is particularly strong. Results of Peterson-Post, Rhoades, Stanley, and Markman (2014) on married couples from the community during their first year of marriage and at three time points over the next 10 years, revealed that Initial marital adjustment predicts depressive symptoms for husbands and wives at all follow-ups significantly.
Overall, it appears that disruptions in the marital relationship and family functions may lead to weak quality of life, especially for women. Considering women's health and well-being as the important factors related to family health and ultimately society's health, the purpose of the current study is to investigate the relationships of marital adjustment and family functions with quality of life in women.

Method Participants and Procedure
The design of the current study was correlational. All women living in Western Azerbaijan province in 2011 made up the statistical society of this research. Seven hundred and thirty women, selected randomly, participated in this study. It is necessary to note that the primary sample size of this study was 1000 women. However, at the time of data collection, 133 questionnaires were not returned and 137 questionnaires were answered by husbands, so, these questionnaires were excluded from the research.

Measures
Demographic questionnaire -This questionnaire was administered to gather demographic characteristics like age, educational status, employment status, monthly income of family and religion. Collected data were used for descriptive purposes.

Family Assessment Device (FAD) -
The FAD is a well-studied measure that uses a Likert type scale to assess family functioning. The measure consists of numerous scales, among which are problem solving, communication, roles, affective regulation, affective involvement, general family functioning, and behavior control. Though the subscales have demonstrated good internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha ranging from .72 to .92 (Epstein, Baldwin, & Bishop, 1983), some have argued that overlap between 13 subscales warrants a complete reorganization of the measure (Ridenour, Daley, & Reich, 2000). Nonetheless, scores from the general family functioning scale and the behavior control scale are generally seen as measuring independent aspects of family functioning (Ridenour, Daley, & Reich, 2000).

Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (R-DAS) -
The R-DAS is a measure of dyadic adjustment based on the scale developed by Spanier (1976). The measure provides a total R-DAS score (range 0 -69, α = .90), as well as scores for the following three subscales: consensus (α = .81), satisfaction (α = .85), and cohesion (α = .80) (Busby, Christensen, Crane, & Larson, 1995). Of particular interest for this study is the established cutoff of 48 for the total score, which allows a distinction to be made between distressed and non-distressed couples (Crane, Middleton, & Bean, 2000). RDAS has been previously widely used among Iranian subjects (Fathi-Ashtiani et al., 2007). In this study, Cronbach alpha was between 0.70 and 0.80 for the different subscales of RDAS.

World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Brief (WHOQOL) (WHOQOL Group, 1998) -The
WHOQOL is a 26-items measure that assesses general quality of life. Questions ask respondents to rate how they function in the domains of Physical Health, Psychological Health, Social Relationships, and the Environment (e.g., the ability to function in one's physical environment). Subscale scores as well as an overall score are obtained.

Data Analysis
Collecting data just began after receiving permission from the local authorities to visit the homes of the participants sampled for the study. The purpose of the study was explained to the women and after obtaining written consent, they were asked to respond to the demographic questionnaire, Family Assessment Device, Dyadic Adjustment Scale and Quality of Life Questionnaire individually and in their house. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson's correlation and multiple regression tests.
However, the total score on dyadic adjustment scale was able to predict quality of life positively.