Cognitive flexibility mediates the link between romance and marriage views

Young adults who are happier in their romantic relationships are more likely to have positive views about marriage—and a flexible mindset that considers different perspectives may help explain why. This new research was published in BMC Psychology.

Romantic relationships formed during young adulthood often shape expectations about the future, including whether someone wants to marry. Previous research has shown that relationship quality affects mental well-being and life satisfaction, but less is known about how it influences beliefs about marriage itself.

Psychologists have also increasingly focused on “cognitive flexibility”—which is the ability to adjust one’s thinking, manage challenges, and see situations from multiple angles—as a key factor in maintaining healthy relationships.

Turkish authors Büşra Ekinci (Ministry of National Education, Türkiye) and Murat Canpolat (Inonu University) wanted to explore whether this mental flexibility might help explain how relationship satisfaction translates into positive attitudes toward marriage. They suspected that people who can adapt and communicate effectively may be better able to navigate relationship challenges, leading them to view marriage as more appealing and achievable.

To test this idea, the team surveyed a group of 436 young adults living in Türkiye aged 18 to 29 years old.

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Participants completed questionnaires measuring how satisfied they were in their romantic relationships (Relationship Satisfaction Scale), how positively they viewed marriage (Inonu Marriage Attitude Scale), and how flexible they were in their thinking and problem-solving (Cognitive Flexibility Scale).

The researchers then analyzed the data using statistical models to examine how these factors were related.

The results showed a clear pattern. Participants who reported higher relationship satisfaction were significantly more likely to have positive attitudes toward marriage. Those with greater cognitive flexibility also tended to report both higher relationship satisfaction and more favorable views of marriage.

Importantly, cognitive flexibility partly explained the link between the two. In other words, being able to adapt one’s thinking and approach challenges constructively appeared to help transform positive relationship experiences into a more optimistic outlook on marriage.

Individuals with flexible thinking styles may be better equipped to handle disagreements, adjust expectations, solve problems, and maintain emotional balance, making the idea of marriage seem more stable and appealing.

Ekinci and Canpolat shared the potential applications of their findings: “To support young adults’ cognitive flexibility and positively develop their attitudes toward marriage, individual or group psychological counseling programs can be implemented where individuals can share the satisfaction they derive from their romantic relationship experiences, the positive and negative emotional processes they experience, and receive professional support.”

However, the researchers caution that the study cannot prove cause and effect. As the data were collected at one point in time, it is unclear whether relationship satisfaction leads to positive marriage attitudes, or whether people who already value marriage are more likely to report higher satisfaction.

The study, “Romantic relationship satisfaction and marriage attitudes in young adults: The mediating role of cognitive flexibility,” was authored by Büşra Ekinci and Murat Canpolat.