Quality of the Mother and Daughter-in-Law relationships and quality of Marital Relationships: The Moderating Role of Differentiation and Marital Empathy

The purpose of this research is to determine the moderating role of differentiation and marital empathy in the relationships between the quality of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law (QMDLR) and the quality of the marital relationships in married women of Ahvaz City. This descriptive research is correlation type. The research targeted married women aged 20 to 50 in Ahvaz who had been married for at least one year. A sample of 210 women was selected by convenience sampling. The participants completed the differentiation scale (DSI_R), quality of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship scale (QMDRS), marital empathy scale (BEA) and marital relationships quality scale (MMQ). The data were analyzed with Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression using SPSS software (version 22). The results showed that there is a positive relationship between the QMDLR and the quality of the marital relationships. The results of regression analysis showed that marital empathy moderates the relationships between QMDLR and quality of the marital relationships, but differentiation does not moderate the relationships between QMDLR and quality of the marital relationships. The results of the research show that marital empathy in the QMDLR is an effective factor that improves the quality of the marital relationships and reduces conflicts, despite the influence of various variables.