The Effectiveness of Training Bowen's Family Therapy Approach on Marital Satisfaction of Married Women in the Aligodarz of City  (In the West of Iran), in 2019

Saeedeh  Mehrabi; Sahar  khanjani Veshki

doi:10.18502/jchr.v10i4.8334

Saeedeh Mehrabi Department of Psychology, Khomeinishahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
Sahar khanjani Veshki Department of Counseling, Faculty of Humanities, Arak University, Arak, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jchr.v10i4.8334

Keywords: Bowen's family therapy approach, Marital satisfaction, Married women, Aligodarz

Abstract

Introduction: Marital satisfaction is one of the most important signs of a favorable relationship between couples. This research aimed to survey the effectiveness of training using Bowen's family therapy approach on marital satisfaction of married women in the city of Aligodarz (In the west of Iran).

Method: This study was a quasiexperi mental study using a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of counseling applicant married women in the city of Aligodarz in 2019. By convenience sampling, 30 married women were selected and participated in this study. After recording the subjects' scores in the pre-test stage, the experimental group was exposed to the intervention (training course), but no operations were performed on the control group. Data gathering was carried out using a demographic questionnaire and ENRICH marital satisfaction scale. Frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation indices were used to describe and Chi-square test was used to examine the homogeneity of the two groups in terms of study variables and multivariate analysis of covariance were performed in SPSS 24 software with a significancel level of 5%.

Results: Descriptive findings showed that the mean (standard deviation) of the total score of the marital satisfaction variable in the pre-test and post-test stages was 131.60 (26.89) and 142.81 (25.24) in the experimental group and 132.66 (24.09) and 132.26 (21.92) in the control group, respectively. The inferential findings showed that Bowen's family therapy approach has a significant effect on some of the dimensions of marital satisfaction (religious orientation, equality of women and men, children and parenting, sexual relation, financial management, conflict resolution, and marital satisfaction) (p< 0.05). On the other hand, this approach was not practical in improving other aspects of marital satisfaction (relationship with family and friends, leisure time, marital relationship, personality issues, and contractual responses) (p> 0.05).

Conclusion: The present study results showed an increase in marital satisfaction of married women using the Bowen family therapy approach. Therefore, it is recommended to use Bowen's family therapy approach to improve women's marital satisfaction with family problems.