Object relations

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of object relations in predicting emotional expression, distress tolerance and marital quality.Methods: The research method was quantitative, applied and descriptive-correlational. The statistical population of the study was all 257 couples which formally married in the first three months of 2022 in Ardabil. The non-random available sampling method was used due to the limitations of the corona pandemic. The sample size was 110 couples, including 110 males and 110 females. Bell Object Relationships Inventory (1995), King & Ammons Emotional Expression Questionnaire (1990), Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) and Basby Marital Quality Questionnaire (1995) were used for data collection. In the descriptive part, we used the central and dispersion indices. Also, in the inferential part, multiple regression was used.  The data were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: The results of this study showed there is a significant negative relationship between social incompetence with emotional expression, distress tolerance and marital quality (p<0.01), and a significant negative relationship between egocentricity with emotional expression, distress tolerance and marital quality (p<0.01). Also, there is a significant negative relationship between insecure attachment with emotional expression, distress tolerance and marital quality (p<0.01) and finally there is a significant negative relationship between alienation with emotional expression, distress tolerance and marital quality (p<0.01).Conclusion: Considering the results, couple therapy based on object relations can be used to improve emotional expression, distress tolerance and marital quality of couples.

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the roles of object relations, paranoid thoughts and interdependence in the stability of married women’s life in Mashhad. This study was a descriptive correlational study. The research population consisted of the married women in Districts 10 and 12 of the city of Mashhad in 2023, and the exact number was not known. Based on Tabachnick and Fidell's formula, 74 samples were required, but for higher reliability and more accuracy in the results, 212 people were selected through convenience sampling (e.g., households, university and hospitals). The research tools included Booth et al. Marital Instability Questionnaire (1983), the Bell Object Relations Questionnaire (1995), the Green et al. Paranoid Thoughts Scale (2008) and Fisher et al. Interdependence Questionnaire (1991). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient and enter regression were used in data analysis. The results of data analysis showed that there is a significant negative relationship between object relations, paranoid thoughts and interdependence with the marital stability (P<0.01). Also, the results of the regression analysis showed that only paranoid thoughts and interdependence are significant predictors for the marital stability (P<0.01). According to the findings, it can be concluded that the higher the amount of paranoid thoughts and interdependence in married women, the lower their marital stability will be.