Social Psychology Research

Abstract Introduction: With the increasing participation of women in the labor market, the simultaneous fulfillment of occupational and family roles can create interpersonal conflicts and marital problems. In this context, marital burnout, as a significant consequence of work–family conflict and insecure attachment styles, can affect the quality of life of employed women. Despite previous studies examining bivariate relationships among these variables, the mediating role of covert relational aggression has received less attention. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of covert relational aggression in the relationship between work–family conflict and attachment styles with marital burnout among employed women Methods: This study employed a descriptive-correlational design using path analysis. The statistical population included married employed women attending counseling centers in District 5 of Tehran during 2021–2022. A total of 250 participants were selected through purposive sampling, and data from 225 participants were ultimately analyzed. Research instruments included the Work–Family Conflict Questionnaire (Netemeyer et al., 1996), the Adult Attachment Scale (Collins & Read, 1990), the Marital Burnout Scale (Pines, 1996), and the Covert Relational Aggression Scale (Nelson & Carroll, 2006). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and path analysis in SPSS 26 and AMOS 23. Results: The results showed that secure attachment style had a negative but non-significant direct effect on marital burnout (β = -0.152, p > 0.05). Insecure attachment style had a significant positive direct effect on covert relational aggression (β = 0.128, p < 0.05) and on marital burnout (β = 0.189, p < 0.01). Work–family conflict had a significant positive direct effect on covert relational aggression (β = 0.184, p < 0.01) and on marital burnout (β = 0.173, p < 0.01). Covert relational aggression had a significant positive direct effect on marital burnout (β = 0.173, p < 0.01). Bootstrap results further indicated that the indirect effects of attachment styles and work–family conflict on marital burnout through covert relational aggression were significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicate that employed women who experience conflict between occupational and family roles are more likely to experience emotional exhaustion and marital burnout if they possess insecure attachment styles and engage in aggressive and indirect relational patterns. Therefore, training in communication skills, emotion regulation, and conflict management may be effective in reducing marital burnout among employed women and improving the quality of couple relationships.