Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies

Background & Objectives: The family is one of the most important social systems based on marriage between the opposite sexes. However, no relationship, including marriage, is smooth. In all relationships, there is conflict and negative emotions. As a result, problems in intimate relationships ultimately affect each party. High divorce rates in Iran and the world clearly show marital problems. Couples usually experience incompatibility in the early years of marriage because they have not yet achieved sufficient mutual harmony. One center that covers couples in Iran is the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee. Given the importance of marital relationships, effective methods should be used to prevent the adverse consequences of dysfunctional relationships, confusion and distress in families, divorce and family breakdown, and ultimately the breakdown of society. The importance of the family is felt in the individual and social life of human beings. Therefore, marriage can be considered one of the stages of human development.
Methods: This study sought to understand and recognize the mental experience of humans, so we employed a qualitative research design. Using a phenomenological approach, we conducted an in–depth study of the participants' mental experiences. The study's statistical population comprised all divorcing couples under the auspices of the Relief Committee in 2019. Fourteen couples from the Relief Committee were interviewed, and the relevant data were collected. In this method, MAXQDA software was used to analyze the qualitative data.
Results: Based on the results, 57 initial codes were identified out of 378 concepts. The results of axial coding revealed four categories of psychological and individual behavior (including a lack of self–confidence, suspicion and distrust, excessive psychological stress and anxiety, lack of motivation and enthusiasm for cohabitation, increased expectations, unrealistic expectations, and failure), socio–cultural category (including the elimination of the taboo of divorce in society, personality differences, early marriage, lack of support from married couples, quarrels, bad friends, the negative impact of media and social networks, differences in education), economic category (such as lack of financial support, weak government support policies, daily devaluation of money, problems with facilities, low income) and religious categories (such as non–adherence to moral and religious principles, atheism, weakness of religious beliefs, or reliance on God).
Conclusion: Based on the research findings, psychological and individual, cultural–social, economic, and religious factors are influential in marital problems of divorcing couples under the auspices of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee. Therefore, by teaching conflict resolution management to divorcing couples, institutionalizing a culture of patience and compromise, and using reliable counseling centers, the scope of disputes and conflicts can be reduced and controlled.