Extended Abstract
1. Objectives
Marriage is a contract by which man, to escape from his/her frightening loneliness, finds a lifetime mate [1]. Due to an increase in the aged population because of enhanced longevity and life expectancy, the number of single and unmarried seniors is also increasing. According to the report of the 2011 National Population and Housing Census, about 49% of elderly women and 9% of elderly men in Iran were living alone [2]. Therefore, it emphasizes the importance of marriage in aged adults. Late-life marriage has been recommended as a way to improve the quality of life and reduce the loneliness of older people; however, there is not enough evidence on their marital satisfaction level in later life. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate marital satisfaction among older adults with late-life marriage.
2. Methods and Materials
This was a descriptive correlational study with a cross-sectional design. The study population consisted of aged adults with late-life marriage referring to the pre-marriage counseling center in Sanandaj City, Iran in 2011-2016. Inclusion criteria were the age of ≥60 and being married. Those who declined research participation were excluded from the study. Considering the Standard Deviation (SD) of 8.6 and standard error (d) of 10.3, the sample size was determined to be 168. Considering a 10-15% sample missing, 22 people were added; therefore, the final sample size was 190 individuals. 
For surveying the samples, the 35-item Persian version of Evaluation and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness (ENRICH) Marital Satisfaction Scale was applied. Its English version was designed by Olson et al. (1987; 1978) and is used as a reliable tool to measure marital satisfaction. It has 115 items and 12 scales (idealistic distortion, marital satisfaction, personality issues, communication, conflict resolution, financial management, leisure activities, sexual relationship, children and parenting, family and friends, equalitarian roles, and religious orientation). Each scale has 10 items except for the first one (idealistic distortion) which has 5 items. It was translated to Persian by Asoudeh et al. with 35 items [11-13]. A test-retest reliability coefficient of 0.86 for marital satisfaction scale and a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.78 for the whole questionnaire have been reported. In the present study, the internal reliability of the Persian version of it was obtained as α=0.92. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS. 
3. Results
The Mean±SD age of study samples was 68.36±7.85 years (age range: 60-93 years). Of 190 samples, 130(68.4%) were male and 60(36.6%) were female. Additionally, 61.1% (n=116) were illiterate, 23.2% (n=44) had low literacy, and 15.8% (n=30) had high school education and above. Moreover, 17.9% of them lived in rural areas and 82.1% in urban areas. In total, 36.8% (n=70) were retired, 30% (n=57) housewife, 3.2% (n=6) unemployed, and 30% (n=57) self-employed.
The marital satisfaction Mean±SD of the samples was 36.95±3.69. Considering the cut-off point of the questionnaire (Table 1), their marital satisfaction level was high. The obtained data revealed that 62.1% (n=118) of the samples had “high” marital satisfaction and were satisfied with all aspects of their marital relationship; 12.1% (n=23) had “very high” marital satisfaction and were really happy and enjoyed all aspects of their marital relationship; 22.1% (n=42) had “moderate” marital satisfaction and were somewhat happy; and 3.7% (n=7) had “low” marital satisfaction who were somewhat dissatisfied and had concerns about their marital relationship. 
The marital satisfaction Mean±SD of older men and women were 37.03±3.86 and 36.8±3.32, respectively.  A gender-wise comparison of the marital satisfaction of samples demonstrated that 12.3% of men and 11.7% of women had “very high” marital satisfaction and were really happy; 63.1% of men and 60% of women had “high” marital satisfaction; 20% of men and 26.7% of women had “moderate” marital satisfaction; and 6% of men and 1.7% of women had “low” marital satisfaction. Independent Samples t-test results indicated no significant difference between older men and women in terms of marital satisfaction (t=0.399, Sig.=0.69).
4. Conclusion
The obtained results indicated a very good marital satisfaction in aged adults in Sanandaj; there was no significant gender difference in this regard. Therefore, perhaps we can be more confident about encouraging the elderly to marry in later life. Marriage is one of the most desirable social phenomena of the present time. Furthermore, it can help to strengthen the family and reduce the burden on the elderly, including overcoming loneliness and depression during old age. To our knowledge, this study was one of the first on the marital satisfaction of aged people with late-life marriage. It can be used as a basis for future studies and for planning and policymaking related to aged people.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (Code: USWR.REC.1395.240).
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors contributions
All authors contributed in designing and preparing this study.
Conflict of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.