Phenomenological explanation of women's lived experience of marital happiness

Subject Areas : Psychology of couples

Mohsen Niazi ¹ , Seyed Hossein Siyadatiyan ^{2 *} , Zahra Nik Khah ³

1 - Professor of the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Kashan University, Iran. [e-mail]
2 - (Corresponding Author). PhD in Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Iran. Lecturer in the Psychology Department of Kashan University. Contact number: 09132767840. [e-mail]
3 - Master's student in Cultural Studies, Kashan University, Kashan, Iran. [e-mail]

Received: 2024-10-13 Accepted : 2024-12-26 Published : 2025-04-12

Keywords: Phenomenology, Lived Experience, Marital happiness, Women,

Abstract :

© 2020 The Author(s). This work is published by family and health as an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Introduction: Considering that lived experience is one of the traditions of qualitative research that emphasizes the internal experience of individuals, this study was conducted with the aim of explaining women's lived experience of marital happiness phenomenologically.

Research Method: In this study, a qualitative descriptive phenomenological method was used. The participants of the study were 15 married women aged 23 to 39 in Kashan city and Ordibehesht 1403 who had a high marital happiness score from the marital happiness questionnaire. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the 7-step Claise method.

Findings: The results indicated the extraction of 3 main themes and 17 sub-themes. The main themes are (1) family factors (1- family satisfaction, 2- economic equality, 3- cultural/religious similarities, 4- family support, 5- non-interference; (2) interpersonal skills (1- interest, 2- compatibility/understanding/mutual understanding, 3- respect, 4- verbal communication, 5- cooperation at home, 6- history, 7- expression of affection, 8- honesty and trust), (3) contextual factors (1- same age/small age difference, 2- education, 3- presence of children, 4- economic well-being) which were examined in detail in the study.

Conclusion: According to the results, it was determined that various factors play a role in creating marital happiness and the results of this study can be used to improve the quality of relationships between couples. Also, psychologists and family counselors can use the findings of this study to reduce problems between couples.

 

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