Structural Modeling of Marital Satisfaction Based on Openness to Experience with the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in Women with Breast Cancer
Keywords:
Marital satisfaction, self-compassion, openness to experienceAbstract
ABSTRACT
The present study aimed to develop a structural model of marital satisfaction based on openness to experience, with the mediating role of self-compassion in women with breast cancer. This research was a correlational study using structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all women with breast cancer who referred to Milad Hospital in Tehran in 2025, from whom 300 participants were selected through convenience sampling. The instruments used in this study were the Hudson Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (1992), the Openness to Experience dimension from the NEO Personality Inventory (1992), and the Self-Compassion Scale by Neff (2003). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation tests and path analysis. Based on the goodness-of-fit indices, the structural model of marital satisfaction based on openness to experience with the mediating role of self-compassion in women with breast cancer demonstrated a good fit. Furthermore, the findings of indirect relationships indicated that self-compassion plays a mediating role in the relationship between openness to experience and marital satisfaction in women with breast cancer, with an indirect effect of -0.850 (p < .001). The effect of openness to experience on marital satisfaction, mediated by self-compassion, was confirmed. Therefore, it is recommended that, in order to enhance self-compassion among women with breast cancer, treatment centers and psychological services related to cancer prioritize raising awareness about the impact of openness to experience on self-compassion and, consequently, on marital satisfaction within their psychological intervention programs.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maryam Salehifar (Author); Marjan Hosseinzadeh Taghvaie; Nahid Havasi Soomar , Maryam Bahrami Hidaji (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
