Extraversion and Marital Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Healing Patterns in Pakistani Couples

This study utilized a cross-sectional design to explore the mediating role of healing ‎interpersonal patterns (HIPs) in the relationship between extraversion and marital ‎adjustment among married couples in Pakistan. A quantitative approach was ‎employed, using self-report questionnaires to assess personality traits, interpersonal patterns, ‎and marital adjustment. The objectives were to: (1) examine the direct link between ‎extraversion and marital adjustment; (2) assess associations with HIPs; (3) evaluate HIPs’ ‎impact on adjustment; and (4) test HIPs as a mediator.
The sample consisted of 902 participants, comprising 451 married couples (451 ‎husbands and 451 wives), recruited from Pakistan. The mean age of participants was 28.21 years (SD = 3.90), with ages ‎ranging from 25 to 45 years.
The sample size was determined using power analysis via G*Power software, aiming ‎for a power of 0.80, alpha of 0.05, and a medium effect size (f² = 0.15) for multiple ‎regression and mediation models. A minimum of 800 participants was recommended, and ‎the final N = 902 provided adequate power (0.95) to detect small-to-medium effects, ‎accounting for potential attrition or incomplete responses.‎
Purposive sampling was used, targeting married couples meeting inclusion criteria, suitable for ‎studying established marriages in a culturally sensitive context. Recruitment occurred from ‎January to April 2025 through social media. Of 600 couples contacted, ‎‎451 (75%) participated after eligibility screening via a demographic questionnaire. ‎
Inclusion criteria required participants to be legally married, married for over one ‎year, and aged 25–45 to focus on stable, mid-adulthood relationships. Exclusion criteria ‎eliminated divorced, separated, newly married (<1 year), cohabiting (non-married), or ‎dating individuals, as well as those with physical or mental disabilities, to reduce ‎confounding health-related effects.
Three validated self-report instruments were used all ‎administered in Urdu to accommodate participants' primary language and enhance response ‎accuracy.‎
1. Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI-10)‎ (Ahmad & Sadiq Hussain, 2022)
2. Interpersonal Pattern Scale (IPS) (Dar & Hasan, 2025)‎
3. Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS-14)‎ (Naeem et al., 2023)
Procedure
Data were collected online through Google Forms. Couples completed questionnaires ‎independently to prevent influence, with order ‎counterbalanced. Response rate ‎was 90%.‎
Data Analysis
SPSS version 27 was used. Descriptive statistics summarized variables. Pearson correlations ‎tested associations. Hierarchical regression predicted marital adjustment: Step 1 (age, ‎education), Step 2 (personality traits), Step 3 (interpersonal patterns). Mediation analysis ‎used PROCESS Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrapped resamples, testing extraversion (X), HIPs ‎‎(M), and marital adjustment (Y), controlling demographics.