Background & Aims: In general, divorce is the most common destructive consequence of conflict, and the high rate of divorce in Western countries confirms it, so that its prevalence reaches more than 50% (5). Various factors are influential in divorce, one of them is schemas. A schema is an abstract representation of the distinctive features and salient elements of an event. Many primary schemas are formed early in life and confirm themselves in later life experiences, even if they are no longer applicable (8).
But one of the variables that is related to the pathology of marital relations is cognitive flexibility (13). Cognitive flexibility is a person's assessment of the controllability of the situation, which changes in different situations (13). Cognitive flexibility enables a person to deal effectively with pressures, challenges and other emotional and social issues. Flexibility means abilities such as changing a person's perspective or adapting to rules, demands and new environmental conditions (14).
Considering the above contents and the negative impact of divorce on personal and social life on the one hand and because the effect of three variables of cognitive flexibility, primary maladaptive schemas and emotional regulation have not been analyzed together in predicting the tendency to divorce, also specifying the variables Related to divorce, in order to prevent this social problem, the researcher is trying to answer the question whether the divorce tendency score can be predicted based on cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and initial incompatible schemas in Iranian couples living in Iran and Canada?
Methods: The current research is practical and of the correlational type, and to do it, 250 couples (140 couples living in Iran and 110 Iranian couples living in Canada) were selected from among the Iranian couples who were inside Iran and Canada and 5 years had passed since their marriage. The condition of having the conditions to enter the research (having at least 5 years of cohabitation among couples living in Iran and couples living in Canada, having at least 3 years of living experience among couples living in Canada and informed consent to participate in the research) by available sampling method were selected as samples. Also, the criteria for withdrawing from the research were unwillingness to continue participating in the research and undergoing psychiatric or psychotherapy treatment. Couples living in Iran, men or women, living in areas 9, 10, and 11 of Mashhad Municipality and couples living in Canada were among the people who referred (men or women) to financial advisors in Toronto in the summer, fall, and winter of 2017 (from July 2018 to March 2019). . Then, all the subjects were asked the Johnson and Morrow (1986) Divorce Propensity Questionnaires, Young (1990) (short form, third edition, 90 items), Dennis and Vanderwaal (2010) cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation (Gross and John, 2003) completed. Finally, descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Kalmogorov Smirnov test, Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression at the first type error level of 0.05 and SPSS software version 21 were used for statistical analysis of the data.
Results: Based on the results obtained from Table 1, the correlation between initial incompatible schemas with the divorce tendency score was positive and the correlation between cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation with the divorce tendency score was negative.
According to Table 2, the standard regression coefficient (beta) for self-directedness is 0.500, impaired performance is 0.713, cutting and rejection is 0.816, impaired limitation is 0.231. According to the statistical value of t obtained from the variables of self-management and impaired functioning, other orientation, cut and rejection, the impaired limitation predicts the tendency to divorce is positive and significant.
Based on the results obtained from Table 3, the correlation between initial incompatible schemas with the divorce tendency score was positive and the correlation between cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation with the divorce tendency score was negative.
Based on Table 4, it is clear that the standard regression coefficient (beta) for cognitive flexibility is -0.280, self-management and impaired performance is 0.251. According to the statistical value of t obtained from the variable of self-management and impaired performance, the prediction of the tendency to divorce is positive and significant, and for the variable of cognitive flexibility, the prediction of the tendency to divorce is negative and significant.
Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, cognitive flexibility and self-management and dysfunctional performance were able to predict the divorce tendency score in couples living in Canada, it can be concluded that family communication patterns, motivational structure and psychological flexibility were the factors affecting the emotional divorce of spouses. . Therefore, the results of the present study can be used to prevent couples from divorcing. Also, the results indicated that there was a negative and inverse relationship between emotion regulation and the tendency to divorce. In marital conflicts, revenge and spite had given place to compatibility; They regulated their negative emotions and responded positively. People with emotional instability and impulsivity were considered undesirable spouses, while people with stability and open and expressive emotions had happier relationships. In this way, it is clear that emotion regulation is an important principle in determining the quality of the relationship. In the life of most couples, there are differences, but how to manage these emotional impulses is important. Relationships serve as the primary developmental context for the successful acquisition of emotion regulation skills. Conversely, emotion regulation skills are a prerequisite for full engagement in social relationships. People who enter adulthood and married life without these skills face problems (31).
The results of the correlation test showed that there was a relationship between the initial incompatible schemas and the tendency to divorce. To clarify this result, it can be said that the increase of these schemas was associated with the increase of divorce. With the increase in the presence of primary incompatible schemas, marital satisfaction and intimacy decreased. According to Yang and Brown (2005), early maladaptive schemas are self-damaging emotional and cognitive patterns that are the result of not meeting basic needs in the child's primary environment in relation to parents and are repeated throughout life and affect the interpretation of experiences and Relationships with others are affected (33). Because incompatible schemas are ineffective, they lead to dissatisfaction and lack of intimacy in marital relationships and provide the basis for separation, and that is why divorce occurs. According to Yang, those whose schemas are placed in the field of rejection and exclusion cannot establish a safe and satisfying relationship with others and believe that they do not need stability, security, love and belonging (34).