Evaluation of an Online Gottman's Psychoeducational Intervention to Improve Marital Communication among Iranian Couples.

Neda Deylami,Siti Aishah Hassan,Zaida Nor Zainudin,Naser Abdulhafeeth Alareqe

doi:10.3390/ijerph18178945

Abstract

Amounting evidence indicates that insufficient knowledge of marital communication skills leads to destructive interactions and poor marital adjustments in couples, especially during stressful situations. Despite the high effectiveness of Gottman’s psychoeducational intervention, there is a lack of study on the online Gottman’s psychoeducation intervention (O-GPI) to improve marital communication and dyadic adjustments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of O-GPI on the improvement of marital communication patterns among Iranian couples. Method: The study followed a single-blind parallel group in a randomized controlled trial using an experimental longitudinal design, comprising 72 heterosexual couples living in Shiraz, Iran, with a 1–7-year marital age and no severe marital problems. The experimental group received eight consecutive O-GPIs via the Zoom platform, while the control group received information related to parenting skills via email. The outcome measures were the three patterns of communication: (i) constructive communication; (ii) demand–withdraw communication; and (iii) mutual avoidance communication—the screening measure was the dyadic adjustment scale. Results: The findings indicated that O-GPI could improve couples’ constructive communication significantly (45% for husbands and 40% wives) and decrease their total demand–withdrawal (51% for husbands and 65% wives) and mutual avoidance communication (60% for husbands and 62% wives). Limitations: Due to the homogenous nature of the sample, generalizations should be made with caution. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the online Gottman’s psychoeducational intervention to improve couples’ communication patterns.

Highlights

Based on Cohen’s (1977) guidelines for effect size, the findings showed that the main effect of online Gottman’s psychoeducational intervention (O-GPI) on the experimental group was higher than on the control group; this effect can persist over time and has a relatively long-lasting effect for Iranian couples (See Figure 2)
The results showed that 51% in the variability in the demand–withdraw communication among men and 56% among women might be due to O-GPI
To date various methods have been developed and introduced to improve marital quality and especially marital communication, only a few rare marital interventions are conducted via online platforms

Summary

Introduction

Human wellbeing improves through developing and maintaining romantic relationships as an important part in all transitional stages of human life, from dating in adolescence, cohabitating in emerging adulthood, and marriage in adulthood [1]. Marriage has been addressed as one of the leading sources of both support and stress for adults [2,3]. Couples experience lower psychological distress and higher wellbeing [4]. Insufficient marital-life knowledge of constructive interactions between couples can lead to an unsuccessful marriage, dissolution and divorce [5,6], as well as generate mutual avoidance and demand–withdraw patterns, which are destructive communication patterns that can destroy marriages [7,8].

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Discussion

Conclusion