Structural Modeling of Attitudes Toward Marital Infidelity Based on Alexithymia and Anxiety Sensitivity: The Mediating Role of Distress Tolerance in Women with Marital Maladjustment
Keywords:
Alexithymia, Anxiety Sensitivity, Attitudes Toward Marital Infidelity, Distress Tolerance, Marital Maladjustment, Structural Equation ModelingAbstract
Purpose: This study aimed to examine a structural model of the relationships between alexithymia and anxiety sensitivity and attitudes toward marital infidelity, considering the mediating role of distress tolerance among women with marital maladjustment.
Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study employed structural equation modeling (SEM). The participants were 310 women aged 30–54 years with marital maladjustment who attended counseling centers in Tehran, Iran, in 2025 and were recruited using purposive sampling. Data were collected using the Attitudes Toward Infidelity Scale, the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the 16-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index, and the Distress Tolerance Scale. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 26 and AMOS version 26. Model parameters were estimated using the maximum likelihood method, and the statistical significance of indirect effects was assessed using the Sobel test.
Findings: Alexithymia had a significant positive direct association with more accepting attitudes toward marital infidelity (β = .29, p = .004), while anxiety sensitivity also showed a significant positive direct association with such attitudes (β = .18, p = .020). Distress tolerance was significantly and negatively associated with attitudes toward marital infidelity (β = −.44, p < .001). The standardized indirect effect of alexithymia on attitudes toward infidelity through distress tolerance was significant (β = .17, Sobel = 2.61, p = .020). Likewise, the indirect effect of anxiety sensitivity through distress tolerance was significant (β = .11, Sobel = 2.15, p = .040). The persistence of significant direct effects alongside significant indirect effects supported a pattern of partial statistical mediation.
Conclusion: Greater difficulties in emotional processing and heightened fear of anxiety-related sensations may be associated with more accepting attitudes toward marital infidelity partly through reduced distress tolerance. Distress tolerance may therefore represent an important clinical process for assessment and intervention among women experiencing marital maladjustment. Given the cross-sectional design, however, the observed associations should not be interpreted as causal.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Zahra Mirzaie (Author); Abazar Cheraghi (Corresponding author); Majid Yousefi Afrashteh (Author)
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