Predicting marital conflicts based on early maladaptive schemas,difficulty in emotion regulation and differentiation in couples

Abstract

The aim of this study was to predict marital conflicts based on early maladaptive schemas, difficulty in emotion regulation and differentiation in couples referring to counseling centers. The research method was correlational and the statistical population of this study included couples who referred to counseling centers and 120 couples were selected using the available sampling method. The research data were collected using the revised marital conflict questionnaires MCQ-R, (2007), Young's Schema (third edition of the short form, 2005), difficulty in emotionally regulating DERS, (2004) and DSI's own differentiation (1998). The collected data was analyzed by statistical method of simultaneous and step-by-step regression analysis. The findings showed that the components of early maladaptive schemas did not have any significant effects on marital conflict. Also, among the difficult components of emotional regulation, the difficulty of controlling impulses and limited access to emotional regulation strategies, and among the components of self-differentiation, the components of my position, and cohabitation with others, predicted marital conflict predictions. According to the results, couples who are less differentiated have less flexibility, are more vulnerable to chronic marital anxiety, and are unable to use rational solutions to life's problems. The more difficult couples are to regulate their emotions and the less differentiated they are, the more prone they are to marital dissatisfaction and marital conflict.