Volume 31, Issue 1 (3-2024)
RJMS 2024, 31(1): 1-12 |
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Research code: ندارد
Ethics code: IR.IAU.SARI.REC.1402.263
Clinical trials code: ندارد
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Esmaeilpour K, Hosseini S Z, Heshmati R. Prediction of Marital Disaffection Based on Marital Conflicts and Relationship Beliefs among Divorce Applicant Couples. RJMS 2024; 31 (1) :1-12
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8233-en.html
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8233-en.html
Professor of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology , University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran , Khalil_sma@yahoo.com
Abstract: (831 Views)
Background & Aims: Satisfaction and happiness from marital relationship decreases over time and among many couples. Communication problems have always been considered as one of the main causes of marital dissatisfaction and divorce. Marital heartbreak and marital incompatibility have become one of the most important events in life and have significant economic and social consequences. Heartbreak is a painful state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion and affects those who expect dream love to give meaning to their lives. This situation occurs when they realize that despite their efforts, their relationship has not and will not give meaning to life. In the meantime, marital conflicts are of particular importance, and when conflicts occur, relationships become weaker or stronger. Usually, conflict is defined as a lack of agreement and opposition between spouses, inconsistency in behavior, opinions and goals in opposition to the other. The inability to communicate logically with the spouse is considered the most common problem that unhappy couples raise and have reported as a significant relationship between communication beliefs and marital conflicts.
Research on the issue of marital dissatisfaction is important for several reasons. Some of these reasons are related to the importance of the family institution in today's society. Others are related to the quality of life and the effect that marital boredom can have on other aspects of life. Unfortunately, family damage has increased in many countries, the divorce rate has increased in recent years and has reached its peak in the last decade. There may be problems that lead couples to decide to separate, such as motivation for separation, intense conflict, and chronic violent events. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the prediction of marital dissatisfaction based on marital conflicts and communication beliefs in couples applying for divorce.
Methods: The population of this research included all couples applying for divorce who referred to the family court and dispute resolution council of Mashhad during the fall of 2018 (122,000 divorce cases). For this purpose, 100 couples (200 people) were selected from the mentioned society by purposeful sampling method. The criteria for include the research included: having a minimum education in reading and writing (in order to be able to read and understand self-report questionnaires), having at least one year of cohabitation, not having a history of divorce or remarriage. The exclusion criterion was non-cooperation in completing the questionnaire. Ethical considerations including obtaining informed consent, guaranteeing privacy and confidentiality were fully respected. In order to collect data, Marital Distress Scale (MDS; Kaiser, 1996), Revised Marital Conflicts Questionnaire (MCQ-R; Sanai et al., 2018) and Communication Beliefs Questionnaire (RBI; Eidelson & Epstein, 1982) were used. In Iran, for the first time, Saadati et al. (32) in a study with a sample of 300 people obtained the reliability of the scale of marital boredom, using Cronbach's alpha method, 0.79. Cronbach's alpha for the entire questionnaire of marital conflicts by Sanai et al., on a group of 270 people, was equal to 0.96 and for subscales from 0.56 to 0.89. O’leary also reported the reliability of communication beliefs questionnaire from 0.72 to 0.81. The obtained data were analyzed using the method of Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression.
Results: The average length of marriage of the participants in the research was 9.05 years. In examining the results of the Pearson correlation test to examine the relationship between the sub-components of the predictor variables and the criterion variable, it was observed that only 3 of the sub-components of marital conflicts (including a decrease in family relationship with relatives, spouse and friends; a decrease in effective communication; and an increase in emotional reactions) have a significant positive relationship with marital burnout. Regarding the sub-components of communication beliefs, 4 beliefs of destructiveness of opposition, expectation of mind reading, belief in the immutability of the spouse, and sexual perfectionism have a significant relationship with marital dissatisfaction; In the case of sexual perfectionism, this relationship was negative, and in the case of the three beliefs of destructive opposition, expectation of mind reading, and belief in the immutability of the spouse, there was a negative relationship with marital dissatisfaction. The relationship between the belief about gender differences and marital dissatisfaction was not significant. Also, the results showed that the multiple regression model was significant (p<0.001) and the components of these two variables were able to significantly predict 30% of the variance of marital boredom (R=0.552 and R2=0.304). Decrease in effective communication and increase in emotional reactions (one of the components of marital conflicts), belief in the immutability of the spouse and sexual perfectionism (one of the components of communication beliefs) can significantly predict marital burnout. The expectation belief of mind reading was also close to the significant level (p=0.052). Among these components, sexual perfectionism had a negative effect and the rest had a positive effect in predicting marital dissatisfaction.
Conclusion: When two people, as a couple, live together, conflict will occur. Due to the nature of couples' interaction, there are times when disagreements are observed or needs are not met, as a result, spouses feel anger, despair and dissatisfaction towards each other. Couples who have good communication skills will have a positive evaluation and a broader view of various aspects of incompatible issues and events in their lives, and they will often use problem-oriented strategies in dealing with issues and problems. While couples who have not learned the necessary communication skills and problem-solving methods correctly, they often use ineffective methods to resolve conflicts in stressful and challenging situations and end up suffering from marital burnout. The findings obtained in the present research and other similar researches, while clarifying some important issues in the society, provide the ground for establishing accuracy of opinion and more emphasis on identifying the fields of conflict resolution. According to these facts and the results of the present research, it can be said that it is necessary to apply these theories in treating the problems of couples with marital conflicts, in addition to creating facilities for increasing the knowledge of therapists, so that in this way it is possible to improve and enhance the quality of life of people. Therefore, according to the results of this research and the role of communication conflicts and beliefs in predicting marital dissatisfaction, it is necessary for family counselors to examine these cases in pre-marriage counseling and when marital conflicts occur, and in the case of divorce applicants, and prepare targeted interventions for them.
Research on the issue of marital dissatisfaction is important for several reasons. Some of these reasons are related to the importance of the family institution in today's society. Others are related to the quality of life and the effect that marital boredom can have on other aspects of life. Unfortunately, family damage has increased in many countries, the divorce rate has increased in recent years and has reached its peak in the last decade. There may be problems that lead couples to decide to separate, such as motivation for separation, intense conflict, and chronic violent events. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the prediction of marital dissatisfaction based on marital conflicts and communication beliefs in couples applying for divorce.
Methods: The population of this research included all couples applying for divorce who referred to the family court and dispute resolution council of Mashhad during the fall of 2018 (122,000 divorce cases). For this purpose, 100 couples (200 people) were selected from the mentioned society by purposeful sampling method. The criteria for include the research included: having a minimum education in reading and writing (in order to be able to read and understand self-report questionnaires), having at least one year of cohabitation, not having a history of divorce or remarriage. The exclusion criterion was non-cooperation in completing the questionnaire. Ethical considerations including obtaining informed consent, guaranteeing privacy and confidentiality were fully respected. In order to collect data, Marital Distress Scale (MDS; Kaiser, 1996), Revised Marital Conflicts Questionnaire (MCQ-R; Sanai et al., 2018) and Communication Beliefs Questionnaire (RBI; Eidelson & Epstein, 1982) were used. In Iran, for the first time, Saadati et al. (32) in a study with a sample of 300 people obtained the reliability of the scale of marital boredom, using Cronbach's alpha method, 0.79. Cronbach's alpha for the entire questionnaire of marital conflicts by Sanai et al., on a group of 270 people, was equal to 0.96 and for subscales from 0.56 to 0.89. O’leary also reported the reliability of communication beliefs questionnaire from 0.72 to 0.81. The obtained data were analyzed using the method of Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression.
Results: The average length of marriage of the participants in the research was 9.05 years. In examining the results of the Pearson correlation test to examine the relationship between the sub-components of the predictor variables and the criterion variable, it was observed that only 3 of the sub-components of marital conflicts (including a decrease in family relationship with relatives, spouse and friends; a decrease in effective communication; and an increase in emotional reactions) have a significant positive relationship with marital burnout. Regarding the sub-components of communication beliefs, 4 beliefs of destructiveness of opposition, expectation of mind reading, belief in the immutability of the spouse, and sexual perfectionism have a significant relationship with marital dissatisfaction; In the case of sexual perfectionism, this relationship was negative, and in the case of the three beliefs of destructive opposition, expectation of mind reading, and belief in the immutability of the spouse, there was a negative relationship with marital dissatisfaction. The relationship between the belief about gender differences and marital dissatisfaction was not significant. Also, the results showed that the multiple regression model was significant (p<0.001) and the components of these two variables were able to significantly predict 30% of the variance of marital boredom (R=0.552 and R2=0.304). Decrease in effective communication and increase in emotional reactions (one of the components of marital conflicts), belief in the immutability of the spouse and sexual perfectionism (one of the components of communication beliefs) can significantly predict marital burnout. The expectation belief of mind reading was also close to the significant level (p=0.052). Among these components, sexual perfectionism had a negative effect and the rest had a positive effect in predicting marital dissatisfaction.
Conclusion: When two people, as a couple, live together, conflict will occur. Due to the nature of couples' interaction, there are times when disagreements are observed or needs are not met, as a result, spouses feel anger, despair and dissatisfaction towards each other. Couples who have good communication skills will have a positive evaluation and a broader view of various aspects of incompatible issues and events in their lives, and they will often use problem-oriented strategies in dealing with issues and problems. While couples who have not learned the necessary communication skills and problem-solving methods correctly, they often use ineffective methods to resolve conflicts in stressful and challenging situations and end up suffering from marital burnout. The findings obtained in the present research and other similar researches, while clarifying some important issues in the society, provide the ground for establishing accuracy of opinion and more emphasis on identifying the fields of conflict resolution. According to these facts and the results of the present research, it can be said that it is necessary to apply these theories in treating the problems of couples with marital conflicts, in addition to creating facilities for increasing the knowledge of therapists, so that in this way it is possible to improve and enhance the quality of life of people. Therefore, according to the results of this research and the role of communication conflicts and beliefs in predicting marital dissatisfaction, it is necessary for family counselors to examine these cases in pre-marriage counseling and when marital conflicts occur, and in the case of divorce applicants, and prepare targeted interventions for them.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Clinical Psychiatry
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