Journal of Family Relations Studies (JHRS)

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the predictive model of marital relationship quality based on multi-screen addiction with the mediating role of maintenance-oriented relationship commitment in married individuals.Methods: The current research method was applied in terms of purpose, descriptive in data collection, and correlational based on the analysis process. The statistical population of the present study was the married teachers of Zanjan province in 2023, and 402 teachers participated in this research through convenience sampling. Data collection tools included the Relationship Quality Questionnaire (RQ) by Chonody et al. (2016), the maintenance-oriented relationship commitment Scale (MORC) by Schoebi et al. (2015), and the Multiple screen Addiction Scale (MSAS) by Saritepeci (2021). Data analysis was conducted using Pearson correlation tests, confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses, and structural equation modeling with SPSS 27 and AMOS 26 software.Results: The results revealed that all scales had appropriate reliability. According to the Pearson correlation matrix, there was a significant positive relationship between MORC and RQ (r=0.593, P<0.01), as well as between MSA and RQ (r=-0.237, P<0.01). Structural equation modeling also indicated a good fit of the research conceptual model with the data (RMSEA=0.074).Conclusion:It can be concluded that maintenance-oriented relationship commitment mediates the relationship between multi-screen addiction and marital relationship quality, suggesting that considering these factors in therapeutic interventions and marital enrichment programs can be beneficial.

Objective: Experiencing stress and emotional disturbances due to ending and separating from a romantic relationship is one of the most painful events for some people. We aimed to evaluate a repetitive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) protocol on a girl experiencing an unmarried relationship break-up.Methods: We aimed to evaluate a tDCS protocol to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (10 sessions, 2 mA current intensity for 20 minutes, one session each day) on a girl experiencing an unmarried relationship break-up (In Iran, the year 2022). In order to evaluate the effect of this protocol, the assessment of love trauma (Love Trauma Inventory (LTI), depression (Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), anxiety Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was done at different time intervals, before and after the intervention and follow-up.Results: Repetitive tDCS stimulation protocol with left anodal/right cathodal DLPFC montage may effectively reduce emotional disturbances after the experience of separating from a romantic relationship and lead to improved mood.Conclusion: In order to generalize the introduced stimulation protocol, it is necessary to investigate more in large groups of people who have experienced a romantic relationship breakup.

Objective: Studies show that joint parent-child activities have far-reaching effects on a child's emotional, cognitive, and social development. Research also reports the significant impact of mother-child relationships on mother-child interactions. The aim of this study was to investigate The Effect of Joint Reading in Mother-Child dyads on The Child’s Empathy and Emotional Regulation of the Mother.Methods: In the present study, which was conducted as quasi-experimental with the control group, 20 mother-child pairs from Alborz Elementary School in Sanandaj, by quota sampling,  were randomly divided into two intervention and control groups. Data collection instruments included a Persian version of EmQue-CA for children and an emotional self-regulation questionnaire by Hoffman and Kashdan for mothers. The mother-child pairs in the intervention group read ten stories for 10 weeks, lasting thirty to forty-five minutes each with the mother and child. Data were analyzed using the ANCOVA and MANCOVA methods.Results: In the intervention group, mean empathy (27.60) and mean tolerance style (21.28) increased, and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.001).Conclusion: The results show that joint reading affects the child's empathy and the mother's emotion regulation. Reading the story helps the child gain a better understanding of the events and improves mother-child interactions.

Objective:  The aim of the present study was to explore the effectiveness of group emotional schema therapy in reducing feelings of loneliness and rumination of mothers with mentally retarded children.Methods: This quasi-experimental study was a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical sample included 30 mothers with mentally retarded children who were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (15 people) and a control group (15 people). The experimental group was given emotional schema therapy training for 8 sessions of 2 hours every week. The Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults and the Ruminative Response Scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using the multivariate analysis of the covariance test.Results: The results showed that group emotional schema therapy significantly reduced feelings of loneliness and rumination in the experimental group compared to the control group.Conclusion: The results of this research showed that emotional schema therapy can be an effective way to reduce the feelings of loneliness and rumination of mothers with mentally retarded children.

Objective: This study aimed to provide a phenomenological analysis of psychological distress caused by the loss of the father in female adolescents in Tabriz, Iran.Methods: This phenomenological study was conducted using a qualitative approach. Seven female adolescents who had lost their fathers in childhood due to illness were selected using purposive sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews until data saturation. The interview texts were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method.Results: The findings of the study showed that psychological distress experienced by the girls by the absence of their fathers could be described with three main categories and eleven subcategories. The identified categories were emotional pressures (deprivation of companionship, deprivation of a supporter, mother’s pressure, recalling memories and worries), social pressures (others’ mistakes, hiding, inhibition, and limited relationships), and economic pressures (self-reliance and financial problems).Conclusion: The dimensions of psychological distress experienced by male and female adolescents due to the absence of their fathers or mothers should be considered in psychological assessments and interventions.

Objective: The present study was conducted with the aim of designing and validating a pessimism questionnaire in married people.Methods: The research method was based on the applied objective and the mixed research method (qualitative-quantitative). The socio-statistics of the research were all professors and experts of clinical psychology and family counselors of Ardabil province in 2022. Among the statistical population, 15 people (11 men and 4 women) were selected based on the principle of opinion saturation as a statistical sample of the qualitative part, and 250 people (136 men and 114 women) were selected as a sample of the quantitative part as a non-random sampling available (easy access) became Interviews and researcher-made questionnaires were used to collect information. Thematic analysis was used with MAXQDA 2018 software to code the interview texts. Additionally, Cronbach's alpha method, construct validity (convergent and discriminant validity), and partial least squares (PLS) were used to analyze the data from the researcher-made questionnaire using SPSS and SmartPLS software.Results: The results indicated that the reliability and validity of the structure (convergence and divergence) were confirmed at an excellent level, and then the confirmatory factor analysis models were confirmed both in the mode of standard coefficients and the mode of absolute significance (p<0/05). Based on the results of this research, it is suggested that due to the innovation of this questionnaire, this questionnaire should be administered to couples before marriage in counseling centers and psychotherapy under the supervision of experienced professors with university experience and couples with pessimism problems before starting life.Conclusion: The joint should be examined and treated during effective protocols to prevent the problems caused by pessimism, which sometimes leads to the disintegration of the joint life if it is aggravated.

Objective: Marital life is the cause of the development of social relations and provides a ground for the exercise of power, from domination to hegemony. The purpose of this study is to investigate the methods of persuasion used by women in the experience of everyday life among married people in Guilan province, Iran.Methods: This research used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews and purposive sampling among 45 married men and women in Guilan province. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data obtained from the interviews.Results: The data analysis revealed 15 basic themes, 7 organizing themes, and 2 global themes. The findings indicate that, in the past, men used social, economic, and psychological dominance against women, in addition to physical dominance. However, in the new society, with women's resistance, such dominance has become negative and illegitimate. Women now accept men's superiority not by force but through internal desire and persuasion. Therefore, today, the exercise of men's power against women has shifted from a state of dominance and asymmetry to a more symmetrical but hegemonic state.Conclusion: In the past, men used more dominance but less authority against women, but today's men use less dominance and more authority. New men's exercise of power is more persuasive, hidden, and corresponding to Rutherford's new masculinity, Connell's hegemonic masculinity, and Bourdieu's symbolic violence.