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Marital Satisfaction Scale
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About Marital Satisfaction Scale
Scale Name
Marital Satisfaction Scale
Author Details
Arthur J. Roach, Larry P. Frazier, and Sharon R. Bowden.
Translation Availability
Background/Description
The Marital Satisfaction Scale (MSS), a reliable and valid scale that was specifically created for the purpose of evaluating the degree of satisfaction that an individual feels towards their own marriage, was developed for marital intervention research. The main focus of MSS was engrossed in the development of a new set of scales which would use a single item style that facilitated easy scoring, ensure that marital conventionalization and societal desirability were not introduced as variables, and finally be able to show the attitudinal changes that occurred through the help of marital intervention.
It was proven that the measurement of the perceiving of one’s marriage by means of an attitude scale was able to clearly and consistently picture the marital satisfaction area. It also turned out that the scales designed for the level of satisfaction towards one’s marriage are “an attitude of greater or lesser favorability toward one’s own marital relationship” the goal was to develop an administratively simple instrument based on fresh items capable of reflecting changes in the level of marital satisfaction or changes that may occur in various types of help interventions.
The MSS has been demonstrated to have high internal consistency, sufficient test-retest reliability, and validity, and to be minimally contaminated by social desirability. The helping professionals typically invoke relatively brief interventions in order to change the behaviors and particularly the attitudes of individuals. Therefore it is of the essence for the practitioners to have the instruments enabling them to evaluate the changes in people’s attitudes towards their marital situation exactly on the basis of such interventions.
For some time the MSS had been developed, and the preparation of this paper began at the time 1975. It’s premises were surely the basis of the Cahoon’s thesis: at the convention of the Southwest Psychological Association held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in1976, they were offered to the researchers and they accepted this offer, thusly, the product of the project was also the writing of the second author. Furthermore, the thesis of the third author was the competition within the time of 1976 and 1977.
The MSS, which was described in this paper, is an important phase of the research on marital intervention and it is a significant milestone in the development of a marital satisfaction scale which is both reliable and valid and is based on a clear and consistent concept of marital satisfaction. The scale is effectively used to measure the relative levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the respondent regarding their relationship, thereby reflecting the work effectiveness of the various helping interventions.
Administration, Scoring and Interpretation
- Provide a copy of the MSS to each participant, along with a pen or pencil to complete the scale.
- Advise the participant to read each items and rate their level of satisfaction toward their marriage on the 7-point Likert scale provided.
- Emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers when answering the items, and to rate each item as honestly as possible.
- Collect the completed scales from the participants, ensuring that all items are completed.
- Score the items according to the scoring system provided in the Marital Satisfaction Scale administration manual.
Reliability and Validity
The Marital Satisfaction Scale (MSS) has undergone a variety of psychometric evaluations to validate its robustness in measuring marital satisfaction. Here are the details regarding the psychometric properties of the MSS:
The internal consistency of the MSS was verified to be high at an alpha value of .92. Also, according to the findings of the test on a 6-week interval the test-retest reliability of the scale was adequate (r = .79).
Content Validity: The concept to be assessed was ascertained through the literature reviews, theoretical framework as well as prior research. The significance of the item to the content domain was established through expert review and pilot studies.
Face Validity: The involvement of the utilization of the single item for the assessment of the efficacy of the MSS was face-validated by the consultations with the practitioners in marital therapy.
Criterion-related Validity: Strong relationships were found between MSS and the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test, thus pointing out the validity of the MSS as a measure of marital satisfaction.
Convergent and Discriminant Validity: The findings established that the MSS meets the requirements for both convergent and discriminant validity. The evidence of convergent validity was provided by the findings from a correlational study with measures of marital adjustment, suggesting that the MSS is similar to different constructs that are associated with marital satisfaction. In addition, nonsignificant correlations of the measure with unconnected constructs were found, for example, work satisfaction, indicating that the MSS does not correlate with factors not{“dataset”:”.ms”} related to marital satisfaction thus confirming its discriminant validity.
Predictive Validity: Predictive validity was established through significant correlations between the MSS scale and scores on an evaluative measure of the marriage.
In summary, results of the psychometric evaluation indicated that the Marital Satisfaction Scale has a good level of reliability and validity; thus, it can be regarded as a useful tool for both clinical and research studies that aim to improve interventions and treatments with marital satisfaction in mind.
Available Versions
Multiple-Items
Reference
Roach, A. J., Frazier, L. P., & Bowden, S. R. (1981). The Marital Satisfaction Scale: Development of a measure for intervention research. Journal of Marriage and Family, 43(2), 537- 549. https://doi.org/10.2307/351302
Important Link
Scale File:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the Marital Satisfaction Scale?
A: The Marital Satisfaction Scale (MSS) is a self-report inventory developed to measure satisfaction in marriage.
Q: What is the response format of the Marital Satisfaction Scale?
A: The Marital Satisfaction Scale uses a 7-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (extremely dissatisfied) to 7 (perfectly satisfied) to measure respondents’ level of satisfaction in their marital relationship.
Q: What is the validity of the Marital Satisfaction Scale?
A: The Marital Satisfaction Scale has been shown to have excellent content validity, face validity, criterion-related validity, convergent and discriminant validity and predictive validity.
Q: How reliable is the Marital Satisfaction Scale?
A: The Marital Satisfaction Scale has high internal consistency (alpha coefficient of .92) and adequate test-retest reliability (r = .79).
Q: What is the purpose of the Marital Satisfaction Scale?
A: The Marital Satisfaction Scale provides a reliable and valid measure of marital satisfaction that can be used in helping clinical professionals and researchers identify and evaluate different interventions targeting marital satisfaction.
Q: How is the Marital Satisfaction Scale administered?
A: The Marital Satisfaction Scale is administered by providing the respondent with the multiple-items questionnaire and asking them to rate their level of satisfaction on a 7-point scale. Once completed, the scores are tallied and averaged to obtain a total score.
Q: What is the scoring method for the Marital Satisfaction Scale?
A: The scoring method of the Marital Satisfaction Scale involves scoring each item of the questionnaire using its assigned value on the 7-point scale and then calculating the average of the scores to get the total score.
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