COUNSELING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Year:2018 | Volume:17 | Issue:66 |Papers Count:9

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to develop and evaluate psychometric properties of the Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Skills of Couples Scale (IISCS). Methods: In terms of testing, the research method was of descriptive type and the sampled statistical population included married men and women living in the city of Tehran, Iran. In this respect, 470 Iranian married men and women (277 women and 193 men) volunteered to participate in the given study. The resulting scale in this study was the Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Skills of Couples Scale (IISCS). To develop this scale, the first step involved planning for the subject matter of the test and the second step contained designing a questionnaire based on theoretical foundations and reviews of existing questionnaires. The given scale was implemented in two stages and the final questionnaire was analyzed in order to assess its construct validity through measurement methods including internal consistency (Cronbach’ s alpha coefficient), Pearson correlation coefficient, test-retest method, exploratory factor analysis, as well as confirmatory factor analysis. Findings: According to the findings of this study, Cronbach’ s alpha coefficients (internal consistency) were from 0. 65 to 0. 78 and the results of the test-retest method confirmed the correlation coefficients between 0. 54 and 0. 81. In this regard, the results of confirmatory factor analysis revealed a goodness of fit index (GFI) equal to 0. 95. Likewise, the goodness of fit index (GFI) was 0. 95 and the adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) was equal to 0. 91 which showed a favorable goodness of fit for the model. The normed fit index (NFI) and the comparative fit index (CFI) were respectively equal to 0. 93 and 0. 95 indicating the desirable goodness of fit for the model. Furthermore, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) was 0. 43 which suggested a favorable goodness of fit for the given model. Result: The results of this study showed that the Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Skills of Couples Scale (IISCS) benefited from sufficient reliability, validity, and goodness of fit to measure such constructs among Iranian samples.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Seligman's positive psychology group training and Quranic Teachings on increasing the happiness of employed married women. Methods: The research method followed a semi-experimental design which included pre-test, post-test and control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all the married women employed in the department of education in the city of Amol, Iran, during the academic year 2016-2017. Considering the minimum scores obtained on Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a sample of 75 women were selected through purposive sampling. They were randomly assigned to three groups of 25 women (two experimental groups and one control group). Participants in the two experimental groups were trained for four 90-minute weekly sessions on Seligman's Positive Psychology and Quranic Teachings. Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was used to collect information. The obtained data were analyzed through repeated measure design and Cohen’ s d-test. Findings: Results showed that each of the training methods had a significant effect in increasing happiness of the married female employees (p<0. 01). However, the Quranic teachings group showed a greater effect compared with the positive psychology method (p <0. 01). The follow-up results also showed that training methods have had a lasting significant effect (p <0. 05). Conclusion: With regards to the findings of this research, it can be concluded that teaching positive psychological interventions and Quranic teachings can help increase women's happiness.

Objective: This study sets out to examine comparing the effectiveness of family therapy based on Bowen’ s family systems theory and logo therapy on the divorce applicant clients' tendency to marital infidelity. Methodology: The design of the study is semi experimental and in the form of pretest and post test conducted on the tow experimental and one control group. The population includes all of the female counseling applicants of Sanandaj, one of the provinces of Kurdistan. 36 (women and men) subjects were selected at the tow experimental and one control group based on random among the data population. Data were collected in pre-test, post-test and follow-up stages with the tendency to infidelity scale by Drigotas (1999). After the pre-test, members of the experimental group participated in 8 sessions of weekly Family therapy based on Bowen’ s family systems theory and logo therapy. Repeated Measure Test and BONFERRONI post hoc test were used for data analysis. Results: The results of repeated measures test showed that the effect of family therapy based on logo therapy and the effect of family therapy based on Bowen’ s family systems theory on the tendency to marital infidelity reduction and reducing its components (cognitive, emotional and sexual infidelity) in divorce applicant clients' are significant and stable (P <0. 05). The results of the BONFERRONI post hoc test showed that the family therapy based on logo therapy in comparison with other interventions was more effective in reducing the marital infidelity and reducing its components (P <0. 05). Conclusion: Interventions of family therapy based on Bowen’ s family systems theory and logo therapy can be effective in reducing the tendency to marital infidelity among divorce applicant clients, however, it can be said that the effectiveness logo therapy is more than the other Intervention.

Purpose: This research was conducted in order to identify interpersonal conflicts of the married people obliged to take care of their old parents. Methods: This study was conducted by adopting a qualitative method and phenomenological approach. Participants in this study were married people with children who were taking care of their elderly parents, and were living in city of Qom, Iran, in the year 2016. The statistical sample included 13 individuals (8 females and 5 males) selected through purposeful sampling method. The number of participants was based on the principle of saturation. Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews and analysis of collected data was done based on Collaizi's seven-step method. The method includes a range of steps from reading interview transcriptions to validation of findings. Findings: The interpersonal conflicts that participants experienced were categorized into four classes namely siblings' conflicts (disagreement and maladjustment), marital conflicts (marital deprivations, maladjustment, promotion of bad moods and tripartite conflicts), parent-child conflict (low attention to children, maladjustment, problems of young children, tripartite conflict), and child-parent conflicts (enmeshment, maladjustment). Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present research, it may be suggested that adult children's caring for elder parent/s may contribute to certain interpersonal conflicts for the married adult children. However, comparison of current findings with conclusions of previous surveys suggest that this issue is not an absolute factor, as other factors such as socioeconomic-status, familial conditions, parent’ s previous attention to his/her child, and children’ s norms and motivational beliefs are also influential.

Purpose: The quality of sexual relationship and marital intimacy are important topics of post-marriage experience. Similarly, religiosity is commonly considered as an influential framework for life. Past research has not been able to accurately discover or illustrate the opinions of experts in the area of couples counseling about the relationship between these dimensions. Therefore, this research was conducted to examine the marriage and family experts’ points of view about the role of religiosity in sexual satisfaction and marital intimacy of couples. Methods: Qualitative approach of phenomenological type was used. For this, ten individuals who were counselors or psychologist with active working experience with couples were interviewed according to qualitative protocols. Data collected from interviews were then analyzed using features available in Microsoft Word software. Results: In the open-coding, 147 initial codes were produced, while the axial-coding based on thematic similarities yielded 24 categorical codes. One of the main questions asked of the participants was “ what role can religiosity play in the quality of couple’ s relationship? ” Overall, according to the analysis of the responses obtained, religiosity plays a positive role in sexual satisfaction and marital intimacy of couples. However, some of the participants mentioned a few points as reservations to be considered which are covered in the current article. Conclusion: Counselors’ and psychotherapists’ perceptions about the role and relation between variables of religiosity, sexual satisfaction, and marital intimacy are important. Of the main findings of the present study was interviewees’ describing the prerequisite or complementary context for capitalizing on positive effects of religiosity in sexual satisfaction and marital intimacy. situation was that the interviewees as it is a prerequisite for receiving a positive impact or supplement and religiosity on the significant sex and marital intimacy.

Purpose: The study aimed at investigating the relationship between the meaning of life and psychological well-being with students’ desire to get married. Methods: This research was conducted using correlational method. The statistical sample includes one-hundred six 18-35 year-old single students who were selected throughconvenient sampling. The data collection tools used in this study included the researcher-made questionnaire of marriage approach, Reef's Psychological Well-being Questionnaire, the Questionnaire of Desire for Marriage, and Steger's Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Findings: The results of correlational analysis showed that the overall score for psychological well-being was only significantly related with meaning of life (p<0. 05), but was not significantly related with search for meaning in life or with desire to get married (p<0. 05). Further, inclination towards marriage was not significantly correlated with microscales of meaning of life, search for meaning, or psychological well-being. Conclusions: Based on the obtained results, increase in level of psychological well-being in individuals can lead to increase in meaning of life, but not have an effect on the desire to get married.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of satisfaction with family life and the quality of family life on children’ s anxiety and depression, considering the mediating role of parenting stress. Methods: For this purpose, 280 mothers of female elementary students from city of Kermanshah, Iran, were selected through random cluster sampling during the year 2016. They completed the Family Life Satisfaction Scale (1986), Quality of Family Life Scale (2003), Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (1995) and Rutter Child Behavior Questionnaire (1967). Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling. Findings: The results of data analysis showed the path of satisfaction with the quality of family life to anxiety and depression has been significant and negative (P<0/001). Likewise, the parenting stress variable could play a mediating role in this regard and the obtained goodness of fit model was satisfactory. Conclusion: According to the findings, focus on quality-adding factors in family life and reducing parenting stress can to a large degree lower students’ symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Purpose: The present study examined the effectiveness of the family empowerment approach to psychological well-being of retired elderly people in the country's retirement organization in city of Ghaemshahr, Iran. Methods: The research design was semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test, and a control group. The statistical population of this study included all the retired elderly people in the State Retirement Organization of city of Ghaemshahr in the year 2017. The samples were randomly selected from the eligibility list of the country's retirement organization, and were invited to attend group meetings via a text message. Fifteen of the elderly were placed in the experimental group and another 15 were assigned to the control group. The effectiveness program of the family empowerment approach was conducted in eight 1 to 1. 5 hour-long sessions for the experimental group. All participants completed the Rief's Welfare Questionnaire (1989). Findings: Multivariate data analysis of covariance showed that the effectiveness program of family coping resources has improved the psychological well-being and its components in the elderly. Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of the family empowerment approach, the provision of educational interventions based on this counseling approach on various clinical samples can prove to be effective.