Abstract
Marriage and partnership relationships, both globally and locally, are undergoing profound and rapid changes that were nearly unimaginable just a few decades ago. The increasing dissatisfaction, heightened instability of marriage, high divorce rates, and growing reluctance to marry raise questions about the nature of quality and satisfying marriages. The study conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina aimed to explore the quality and satisfaction levels in marriages among 1154 participants. Using the Quality of Marriage Index (QMI) questionnaire developed by Norton, the research examined factors influencing satisfaction or dissatisfaction with marriages, as well as the overall quality of marital relationships in Bosnian Herzegovinian society. The results showed a statistically significant association between the perception of satisfaction with marriage and age. Also, a statistically significant association was found between the perception of marriage and marital periods. The study indicated that the evolution of partnerships and marital relationships, the passage through different stages of a potential crisis, and how individuals in a shared life respond to these changes significantly influence the quality of the partnership. The results of the research conducted on the one hand, indicate that most participants perceive their relationship as satisfactory, while on the other hand, they point to the compromised quality of marital relationships. The study findings can serve as an important link in identifying the challenges individuals in a common life face at different stages of marriage, as well as in planning professional interventions to preserve marital unity, primarily through counseling and therapeutic work.
