Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Counseling, Faculty of Educational sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.
2 Department of Counseling, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh, Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to develop a psycho-educational package based on eclecticism in order to improve marital control and communication patterns of conflicting spouses. The methodology of this study was mixed, with the Delphi and a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a two-month follow-up phase. The research population in the qualitative section was all experts in the field of marriage counseling, that 30 of whom were selected through purposive sampling. In the quantitative part, all couples referring to Zanjan counseling centers were included. Among them, 50 couples whose scores on the Graham-Kevan & Archer (2003) Controlling Behaviors scale and the Christensen and Salavi (1984) Communication Patterns Questionnaire were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups of 25 people. The experimental group received training based on the developed protocol during nine two-hour sessions, while the control group received no training. The data were analyzed using the Kendall coefficient and analysis of covariance test. The content validity of the package was satisfactory and the expert panel reached a strong agreement in the fourth Delphi round. Findings of the quantitative section indicated that the developed package was able to improve the marital control of conflicting couples in the experimental group and modify their communication patterns (p<0.05), and this difference was also significant in the follow-up phase. The results indicate that the developed package can be effective in improving marital control and communication patterns of conflicting spouses.
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