Abstract
Introduction: Substance abuse is one of the major factors leading to divorce in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to present a qualitative model of factors affecting women to stay married with substance-dependent husbands.
 Methods: The grounded theory in the qualitative paradigm was used. Twenty participants (10 women and 10 experts) were interviewed based on theoretical saturation, purposeful, and snowball sampling, and semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method.
 Results: The participants’ mean age for women was (M=35.2, SD=7.40, n=10) and for experts was (M= 37. 3, SD= 7.42, n=10), half of whom were men and half were women for experts. The results indicated that causal conditions consisted of the child as a barrier to leaving the marital relationship; feeling satisfied with the marital relationship; the attitudes, expectations, and feelings of the spouses; promising behaviors of the husband; financial dependency on the husband, and level of substance-related disorder. The intervening condition was the family of origin’s role. The women's survival strategies in marital life include the use of supportive resources, increasing awareness, and the use of constructive behaviors. The contextual conditions were social and legal factors. Consequences of the core category (A journey with fear and hope), were desirable and undesirable emotions and experiences.
 Conclusion: The results indicated that spouses of substance-dependent husbands stay in the marriage, not just due to obstacles like familial, social, legal, and financial factors, but also due to resourceful supports, marital satisfaction, and enjoy having a family with husband and children.
Highlights
Substance abuse is one of the major factors leading to divorce in Iran
Substance abuse by a person in the family imposes a profound effect on the layers of his life and relatives, so that spouse abuse, marital conflict, and divorce are more common in families of these people [5]
Design: The qualitative research method of the grounded theory was used to investigate the profound experiences of spouses of substance abusers
Summary
This study aimed to present a qualitative model of factors affecting women to stay married with substance-dependent husbands. Conclusion: The results indicated that spouses of substance-dependent husbands stay in the marriage, not just due to obstacles like familial, social, legal, and financial factors, and due to resourceful supports, marital satisfaction, and enjoy having a family with husband and children. Many Iranian families are directly and indirectly affected by the substance-related disorder It is one of the social problems facing families involved with this problem. The role of the husband is crucial in the social relationships of family members and his substance-related disorder leads to family breakdown and affects the relationships between the members [4]. Substance abuse by a person in the family imposes a profound effect on the layers of his life and relatives, so that spouse abuse, marital conflict, and divorce are more common in families of these people [5]
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