Highlights

• Executive cognitive functions have a significant negative relationship with the tendency toward divorce.

• Executive functions have a significant direct effect on conflict resolution styles.

• Conflict resolution styles have a significant relationship with the tendency toward divorc.

• Conflict resolution styles play a significant mediating role in the relationship between executive functions and the tendency toward divorce.

Extended Abstract

Introduction: Marital stability is influenced by the interaction of cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal processes. Executive functions are higher-order cognitive capacities that support behavioral regulation, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, decision-making, planning, attention, and social cognition. These abilities may be particularly important in marital relationships because spouses frequently encounter situations that require the regulation of emotional responses, consideration of alternative perspectives, and selection of appropriate behavioral responses.

Conflict resolution styles are also closely related to the quality and stability of marital relationships. Couples may respond to disagreements through constructive strategies, such as integration and compromise, or through less constructive strategies, including domination, obligation, and avoidance. The cognitive capacities required to inhibit immediate reactions, consider alternative solutions, evaluate consequences, and adapt behavior may therefore be relevant to the ways in which spouses manage marital conflicts.

Although previous studies have examined executive functioning, conflict resolution, and marital instability, less attention has been given to the processes connecting these variables within an integrated model. In particular, the potential mediating role of conflict resolution styles in the relationship between executive functions and the tendency toward divorce remains insufficiently examined. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine a structural model of the relationship between executive functions and the tendency toward divorce by investigating the mediating role of conflict resolution styles among married men and women.

Method: The study employed a descriptive-correlational design using structural equation modeling. A total of 400 married men and women were recruited through convenience sampling from respondents to an online questionnaire distributed in cyberspace. Data were collected using Nejati's Cognitive Abilities Inventory, the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II (ROCI-II), and the 14-item Divorce Propensity Scale.

Results: The findings indicated that the proposed structural model had a good fit with the observed data. Executive functions had a significant negative direct relationship with the tendency toward divorce (β = −0.23, p < 0.05), indicating that higher levels of executive functioning were associated with a lower tendency toward divorce.

Executive functions were also significantly associated with conflict resolution styles. Their relationship with constructive conflict resolution styles was significant and positive (β = 0.46, p < 0.001), whereas their relationship with non-constructive conflict resolution styles was significant and negative (β = −0.63, p < 0.001). In addition, constructive conflict resolution styles were significantly related to the tendency toward divorce (β = 0.45, p < 0.001), as were non-constructive conflict resolution styles (β = 0.49, p < 0.001).

The indirect effects also demonstrated significant pathways between executive functions and the tendency toward divorce through conflict resolution styles. Among constructive styles, integration (β = 0.045, p = 0.001) and compromise (β = 0.18, p = 0.001) represented significant indirect pathways. Among non-constructive styles, domination (β = −0.23, p = 0.001), obligation (β = −0.46, p = 0.001), and avoidance (β = −0.94, p = 0.04) represented significant indirect pathways.

Discussion: The significant negative relationship between executive functions and the tendency toward divorce suggests that stronger executive functioning is associated with greater capacity to manage the cognitive and behavioral demands of marital relationships. Executive functions enable individuals to inhibit immediate responses, regulate behavior, consider alternative solutions, and adapt their responses to changing interpersonal situations. These capacities may be particularly relevant during marital disagreements, when emotionally driven reactions can interfere with constructive communication and problem solving.

The significant relationship between executive functions and conflict resolution styles further indicates that cognitive capacities may be reflected in the manner in which individuals respond to marital conflicts. Cognitive flexibility can facilitate consideration of alternative perspectives and solutions, while inhibitory control may help individuals refrain from immediate or impulsive reactions. Decision-making and planning may similarly assist spouses in evaluating the consequences of different responses and selecting more adaptive strategies. Thus, executive functioning may provide an important cognitive foundation for effective conflict management.

The significant indirect pathways suggest that conflict resolution styles represent an important mechanism in the relationship between executive functions and the tendency toward divorce. The findings indicate that the association between cognitive functioning and marital outcomes may partly depend on how individuals translate their cognitive capacities into interpersonal behavior during conflict. Integration and compromise were significant mediating pathways among the constructive styles, whereas domination, obligation, and avoidance represented significant pathways among the non-constructive styles.

Overall, these findings support a multidimensional perspective on marital instability in which cognitive and interpersonal processes are interconnected. The tendency toward divorce may therefore be related not only to the occurrence of marital conflicts but also to the cognitive resources available to spouses when regulating their responses to such conflicts and selecting strategies for resolving them.

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated significant relationships between executive functions, conflict resolution styles, and the tendency toward divorce among married men and women. Executive functions were directly associated with a lower tendency toward divorce and were also indirectly associated with divorce tendency through conflict resolution styles.

These findings suggest that premarital education and marital counseling programs may benefit from addressing both cognitive and interpersonal capacities. Training in cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, decision-making, and self-regulation, together with training in constructive conflict resolution strategies, may provide a potentially useful framework for strengthening marital relationships. However, because the present study used a correlational design and convenience sampling, causal conclusions should be avoided. Future longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to further examine these relationships and evaluate whether strengthening executive and conflict-resolution skills is associated with improved marital stability.