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Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. , yousefi@znu.ac.ir
Abstract: (8 Views)
Background: In marital relationships, various psychological and interpersonal factors may coexist, ultimately leading to marital frustration, reduced emotional empathy, and ineffective strategies for maintaining the relationship. These problems can increase marital dissatisfaction and play a role in the decision to file for divorce. Therefore, psychological interventions are of great importance for this group of women.
Aims: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of reality therapy training on marital frustration, emotional empathy, and relationship maintenance strategies in women seeking divorce.
Methods: The method of this study was a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population of the study included all women seeking divorce who referred to family counseling centers affiliated with the judiciary in Hamedan city between the August 2024 to February 2025 (1,198 people). The statistical sample of the study included 30 women seeking divorce, who were selected convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The data collection tools in this study included Emotional Empathy Scale (Mehrabian & Epstein, 1972), Relational Maintenance Strategy Measure (Stafford & Canary, 1991), and marital disillusionment scale (Niehuis, S. & Bartell, 2006). Participants in the experimental group received reality-therapy training in eight 90-minute sessions. Also, research data were analyzed using the variance analysis with repeated measurement and SPSS-27 software.
Results: The results showed that reality therapy training had an effect on reducing marital frustration and increasing emotional empathy, and relationship maintenance strategies in women seeking divorce (p<0.05). In addition, the results indicated continued effectiveness of the educational intervention at the follow-up stage (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, reality therapy training is used by family counselors and couple’s therapists as an effective intervention to reduce marital frustration, increase emotional empathy, and strengthen relationship maintenance strategies in women seeking divorce. Given the reality therapy of therapeutic practice, its teaching is suggested as a suitable goal for improving marital and psychological functioning for women seeking divorce.
Aims: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of reality therapy training on marital frustration, emotional empathy, and relationship maintenance strategies in women seeking divorce.
Methods: The method of this study was a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population of the study included all women seeking divorce who referred to family counseling centers affiliated with the judiciary in Hamedan city between the August 2024 to February 2025 (1,198 people). The statistical sample of the study included 30 women seeking divorce, who were selected convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The data collection tools in this study included Emotional Empathy Scale (Mehrabian & Epstein, 1972), Relational Maintenance Strategy Measure (Stafford & Canary, 1991), and marital disillusionment scale (Niehuis, S. & Bartell, 2006). Participants in the experimental group received reality-therapy training in eight 90-minute sessions. Also, research data were analyzed using the variance analysis with repeated measurement and SPSS-27 software.
Results: The results showed that reality therapy training had an effect on reducing marital frustration and increasing emotional empathy, and relationship maintenance strategies in women seeking divorce (p<0.05). In addition, the results indicated continued effectiveness of the educational intervention at the follow-up stage (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, reality therapy training is used by family counselors and couple’s therapists as an effective intervention to reduce marital frustration, increase emotional empathy, and strengthen relationship maintenance strategies in women seeking divorce. Given the reality therapy of therapeutic practice, its teaching is suggested as a suitable goal for improving marital and psychological functioning for women seeking divorce.
Article number: 12
Keywords: reality therapy, marital frustration, emotional empathy, relationship maintenance strategies, women seeking divorce.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/03/1 | Accepted: 2026/05/15 | Published: 2026/07/23
Received: 2026/03/1 | Accepted: 2026/05/15 | Published: 2026/07/23
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License. |
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)