An Examination of Cognitive Processes Influencing the Perception of Marital Dissatisfaction
Keywords:
Marital dissatisfaction, cognitive processes, schemas, attribution style, relational meaning-making, couple therapyAbstract
This study aimed to comprehensively explain the cognitive processes underlying the development and persistence of perceived marital dissatisfaction. This qualitative study employed a systematic review design. Sixteen relevant scientific articles were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis through NVivo software version 14. Coding was conducted in open, axial, and selective phases, and theoretical sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Results indicated that marital dissatisfaction perception emerges from a multilayered interaction of cognitive processes including negative attribution patterns, attentional biases, maladaptive schemas, dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs, rumination, ineffective communication scripts, shared negative cognitive narratives, and relational meaning-making systems. These processes distort daily interaction interpretations, weaken emotional regulation, and reshape marital identity, thereby sustaining chronic dissatisfaction cycles. Marital dissatisfaction is rooted primarily in underlying cognitive structures rather than objective relational events, and effective therapeutic interventions should therefore focus on cognitive restructuring and reconstructing relational meaning.
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