Introduction: Conflict is inevitable in intimate relationships. It usually appears in the form of disagreements, dislikes, arguments or tensions. It can cause relationship problems if managed poorly. The aim of this descriptive- correlation study was to investigate the effects of marital coping strategies, personality and self-control on the marital conflict in a propositional structured model. Method: The research population consisted of all parents of elementary school children of Kurdistan in 2014. The two-stage cluster sampling was used. The research instruments were the Marital Conflict Questionnaire (MCQ), NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI, short form), Self- control questionnaire and Marital Coping Inventory (MCI). The required data was collected through research instruments. Correlation analysis, multiple regression and structural equation model was done using AMOS22. Results: The results showed that self- control, personality factors and marital coping strategies have effects on marital conflict and can predict it. Marital coping strategies have the strongest effect on marital conflict among these variables. Conceptual model showed that personality factors had strong effects on marital coping strategies and self- control. Conclusion: Besides specifying the relationship among research variables, the results indicated that personality factor can affect marital conflict through self – control and marital coping strategies. Considering that personality traits are resistant to change and modification, it seems that family therapists can moderate the effects of personality and reduce marital conflict by intervening on self – control and marital coping strategies.
