Islamic lifestyle with a focus on health

Islamic lifestyle with a focus on health

Examining the effectiveness of Gottman model Couple Therapy on conflict resolution styles, marital violence and family resilience in Covid-19 Pandemic era

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Haniyeh Mehrabadi 1
Seyed Ali Kimiaee 2
Hossein Kareshki 3
1 M.A in counselling. Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Educational Science and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
2 Associate Professor of counselling, of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Educational Science and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
3 Associate Professor of educational psychology, Departmentof Counseling and Educational Psychology, Faculty Educational Science and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Background and Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Gottman Model Couple Therapy (GMCT) on conflict resolution styles, marital violence, and family resilience in Covid-19 Pandemic era.
Materials and Methods: The current study was applied in terms of purpose, and employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-post-tests, including a واپایش group. The targeted population consisted of couples referring to Peyvand and Aftab Clinics in Neyshabour, who were experiencing marital conflict and violence. According to self-reports, with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, their conflicts had been increased sharply and they used violence when their conflicts had arisen. Twelve volunteer couples were conveniently selected as the participants for this study. Then, they were randomly assigned to either the GMCT group or the واپایش group. Data were collected using the Rahim Conflict Resolution Styles Questionnaire (ROCI-II), the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-2) and the Family Resilience Assessment Scale (FRAS).
Findings: Finally, using SPSS-23 software, data analysis was conducted employing both univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance. The results indicated the effectiveness of GMCT on increasing couples' use of constructive conflict resolution styles, reducing their use of non-constructive conflict resolution styles (p < 0.01), reducing marital violence (p < 0.01), and also increasing family resilience (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, GMCT can be used to promote constructive conflict resolution styles, decrease marital violence, and improve family resilience in crises.
Keywords
Conflict Resolution Styles
Covid-19 Pandemic
Family Resilience
Gottman Model Couple Therapy
Marital Violence
  1. Chung GS, Chan XW, Lanier P, Wong PY. Associations between work–family balance, parenting stress, and marital conflicts during COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. Journal of Child and Family Studies. 2023;32(1): 132-144.
  2. Liu H, Hsieh N. Marital status and happiness during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Marriage and Family. 2024;86(2):473-493.
  3. Pietromonaco PR, Overall NC. Applying relationship science to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic may impact couples’ relationships. American Psychologist. 2021;76(3):438-450.
  4. Martin LN, Giff ST, Ribeiro S, Fyffe S, Renshaw KD. Changes in relationship quality in the COVID-19 pandemic: Associations with pandemic stressors and couple communication. The American Journal of Family Therapy. 2024;52(2):176-192.
  5. Rahim MA. Toward a theory of managing organizational conflict. International journal of conflict management. 2002;13(3):206-235.
  6. Ünal Ö, Akgün S. Conflict resolution styles as predictors of marital adjustment and marital satisfaction: An actor–partner interdependence model. Journal of Family Studies. 2022;28(3):898-913.
  7. Emami P, Ghodsi P, Mirhashemi M, Abolma’ali Alhoseini Kh. Relationship between early maladaptive schemas and marital quality Mediated by Conflict Resolution Strategies in Married Women. Journal of Disability Studies. 2021;11(1):1-9. (Persian)
  8. Zare M, Taghavi MR, Aflakseir A. Predicting of marital commitment based on couples' conflict resolution styles, self-compassion and satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Clinical psychology studies. 2023;15(50):1-36. (Persian)
  9. Spencer CM, Stith SM, Cafferky B. What puts individuals at risk for physical intimate partner violence perpetration? A meta-analysis examining risk markers for men and women. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2022;23(1):36-51.
  10. Bonache H, Gonzalez-Mendez R, Krahé B. Adult attachment styles, destructive conflict resolution, and the experience of intimate partner violence. Journal of interpersonal violence. 2019;34(2):287-309.
  11. Aguilera-Jiménez N, Rodríguez-Franco L, Rohlfs-Domínguez P, Alameda-Bailén JR, Paíno-Quesada SG. Relationships of adolescent and young couples with violent behaviors: Conflict resolution strategies. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2021;18(6):3201.
  12. Kourti A, Stavridou A, Panagouli E, Psaltopoulou T, Spiliopoulou C, Tsolia M, Sergentanis TN, Tsitsika A. Domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. Trauma, violence, & abuse. 2023;24(2):719-745.
  13. Cirici Amell R, Soler AR, Cobo J, Soldevilla Alberti JM. Psychological consequences and daily life adjustment for victims of intimate partner violence. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine. 2023;58(1):6-19.
  14. McKinley CE, Theall KP. Weaving Healthy Families Program: Promoting resilience while reducing violence and substance use. Research on social work practice. 2021;31(5):476-492.
  15. Prime H, Wade M, Browne DT. Risk and resilience in family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. American psychologist. 2020;75(5):631-643.
  16. Walsh F. Strengthening family resilience. Guilford publications; 2015.
  17. Walsh F. Family resilience: A framework for clinical practice. Family process. 2003;42(1):1-8.
  18. Cihan H, Var EC. Developing a model on the factors affecting family resilience in the COVID-19 pandemic: Risk and protective factors. Current Psychology. 2023;42(23):20259-20274. 
  19. Eales L, Ferguson GM, Gillespie S, Smoyer S, Carlson SM. Family resilience and psychological distress in the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study. Developmental Psychology. 2021;57(10):1563- 1581.
  20. Koohboomi ZH, Ghamari M, Hosseinian S. Predicting domestic violence against women during coronavirus quarantine based on cognitive flexibility: The mediating role of resilience. Iranian journal of family psychology. 2020;7(2):33-46.
  21. Jiang L, Wang M, Chen Y, Liu Q. Mediating role of resilience between family functioning and quality of life in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Journal of psychosocial oncology. 2024;42(2):175-189.
  22. Vladislav EO, Marc G, Paica CI, Pop O. Family resilience in a social-ecological context–emotional difficulties and coping strategies. Frontiers in Psychology. 2024; 15:1421745.
  23. Mantler T, Shillington KJ, Yates J, Tryphonopoulos P, Jackson KT, Ford-Gilboe M. Resilience is more than nature: An exploration of the conditions that nurture resilience among rural women who have experienced IPV. Journal of family violence. 2024;39(2):165-175.
  24. Gurman AS, editor. Clinical handbook of couple therapy. Guilford Press; 2008 Jun 24.
  25. Gottman J. Why marriages succeed or fail. A&C Black; 2012 Apr 12.
  26. Gottman J, Silver N. What makes love last? How to build trust and avoid betrayal. Simon and Schuster; 2012 Sep 4.
  27. Gottman JM, Driver J, Tabares A. Repair during marital conflict in newlyweds: How couples move from attack–defend to collaboration. Journal of Family Psychotherapy. 2015;26(2):85-108.
  28. Haghighi H, Zarei E, Ghaderi F. Factor structure and psychometric characteristics conflict resolution styles questionnaire Rahim (ROCI-II) in Iranian couples. 2012;2(1):534-562. (Persian).
  29. Straus MA, Hamby SL, Boney-McCoy SU, Sugarman DB. The revised conflict tactics scales development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of family issues. 1996;17(3):283-316.
  30. Panaghi L, Dehghani M, Abbasi M, Mohammadi S, Maleki GH. Investigating reliability, validity and factor structure of the revised conflict tactics scale. 2011;7(1):103-117. (Persian).
  31. Sixbey MT. Development of the family resilience assessment scale to identify family resilience constructs. University of Florida; 2005.
  32. Hosseini F, Hosseinchari M. The survey of validation and reliability of family resiliency scale. 2013;3(2):181-209. (Persian).
  33. Babcock JC, Gottman JM, Ryan KD, Gottman JS. A component analysis of a brief psycho‐educational couples' workshop: one‐year follow‐up results. Journal of Family Therapy. 2013;35(3):252-280.
  34. Gottman J, Gottman J. The natural principles of love. Journal of Family Theory & Review. 2017;9(1):7-26.
  35. Bradley RP, Drummey K, Gottman JM, Gottman JS. Treating couples who mutually exhibit violence or aggression: Reducing behaviors that show a susceptibility for violence. Journal of Family Violence. 2014; 29:549-558.
  36. Rueda HA, Yndo M, Williams LR, Shorey RC. Does Gottman’s marital communication conceptualization inform teen dating violence? Communication skill deficits analyzed across three samples of diverse adolescents. Journal of interpersonal violence. 2021;36(11-12):NP6411-40.
  37. Karimi A, Ahmadi S, Zahrakar K. The effectiveness of marital skills training based on the gotman’s Model in covert relational aggression of women. Journal of clinical psychology. 2020;11(4):13-22. (Persian)
  38. Friend DJ, Bradley RP, Gottman JM. Displayed affective behavior between intimate partner violence types during non-violent conflict discussions. Journal of Family Violence. 2017;32(5):493-504.
  39. Jalalvand D, Goodarzi K, Karimi J, Yaghoobi, A. Gottman Couple Therapy on Marital Burnout and Resilience of Conflicted Couples. Family counseling and psychotherapy journal. 2020;12(2):1-36. (Persian)
  40. Daryaye Lal, A, Akbari, B, Sadeghi, A. comparing the effectiveness of guttman model and emotion-focused therapy on couples' loneliness and resilience. journal of applied family therapy. 2022;3(2):188-205. (Persian)
  41. Brigance CA, Waalkes PL, Freedle A, Kim SR. Gottman's sound relationship house and relational resilience through infertility for couples. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 2024;50(4):933-952.