The Effectiveness of Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program on the Quality of Life and Marital Commitment in Married Women

Narges Habibi; Elham  Fathi; Abolfazl    Hatami Varzaneh; Seifollah  Aghajani

doi:10.18502/jhs.v10i1.9107

Narges Habibi M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
Elham Fathi Assistant Professor, Department of Counselling, Faculty of Humanities, Hazrat-e Masoumeh University, Qom, Iran
Abolfazl Hatami Varzaneh Assistant Professor, Department of Counselling, Faculty of Humanities, Hazrat-e Masoumeh University, Qom, Iran
Seifollah Aghajani Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jhs.v10i1.9107

Keywords: PREP Education; Quality of Life; Marital Commitment

Abstract

Background and Purpose: There are several ways to enhance marriage. Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) are among the methods of educating relationships. Relationship education programs have made a significant contribution to the growth and development of millions of couples. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) on quality of life and marital commitment in married women.

Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental research was conducted in a pretest-posttest control group design with 15 participants in the experimental group and 15 participants in the control group. Marital Commitment Questionnaire (DCI), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL) were completed as research instruments by the participants. The full version of PREP.8 was presented to the group of 15 participants over a weekend for a total of 12 hours, with each segment lasting for two hours. The Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) as well as the Univariate Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) tests were used. Hedge´s g effect size (ES) was also calculated to determine the magnitude of pairwise comparisons.

Results: The findings indicated that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of quality of life (Social Relations: Exp:12.27±1.28, Cont:11.13±1.64, P≤0.03; Environment, Exp:30.73±3.06, Cont:28.67±3.27, P≤0.02) and marital commitment (Structural Commitment: Exp: 76.40±5.08, Cont: 70.53±3.42; P≤0.02).

Conclusion: We concluded that utilizing PREP can successfully help Iranian couples in their relationships providing them with more knowledge and skills.