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HasaniMoghadam, S., Ganji, J., Nia, H. S., Aarabi, M., & Khani, S. (2021). Communication Patterns and Related Factors among Iranian Couples: A Cross-sectional Study . Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences (SJMS), 16(1), 43-55. https://doi.org/10.18502/sjms.v16i1.8936
https://doi.org/10.18502/sjms.v16i1.8936
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Sedigheh HasaniMoghadam
Sedigheh HasaniMoghadam
1. Student Research Committee, Nasibeh School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
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Jila Ganji
Jila Ganji
2. Department of Reproductive Health and Midwifery, Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Science, Sari, Iran.
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Hamid Sharif Nia
Hamid Sharif Nia
3. Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Amol Faculty of Nursing, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
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Mohsen Aarabi
Mohsen Aarabi
4. Cardiovascular Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
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Soghra Khani
Soghra Khani
5. Department of Reproductive Health and Midwifery, Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
Published Date
- Mar 31, 2021
Communication Patterns and Related Factors among Iranian Couples: A Cross-sectional Study
Abstract
Background: Given the effect of various factors on the use of communication patterns by couples, this study aimed to determine the most common communication pattern among couples and related factors in Sari, northern Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 520 people (260 couples) in Sari. Data were collected using a demographic–fertility factors questionnaire, Enrich couple scale, communication patterns questionnaire, general health questionnaire (GHQ-28), and NEO personality inventory. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 25 using descriptive and inferential statistics (multiple regression model).
Results: While the mean (standard deviation) age of women included in the study was 34.08 (7.71) years, the mean age of men was 39.13 (9.18) years. The most common communication patterns in both women and men was the mutual constructive communication, whereas the lowest frequent communication pattern was the demand/withdraw communication in both men and women. Marital satisfaction had a significant positive correlation with mutual constructive communication pattern in women and men (P = 0.001). In addition, a significant inverse correlation was observed between the number of marriage to date, women’s age, and spouses' demand/withdraw communication pattern with mutual constructive communication pattern in women. Also, a significant inverse correlation was observed between flexibility (P = 0.047), number of marriages (P = 0.013), and the wives' age (P = 0.005) with mutual constructive communication pattern in men.
Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it is necessary to recognize the factors related to couples’ communication patterns in order to improve the communication patterns so that marital conflicts could be avoided while a more effective communication is established.
Keywords: communication patterns, couples, personality characteristics, marital satisfaction, public health
References
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[24] Daneshpour, M., Asoodeh, M. H., Khalili, S., et al. (2011). Self described happy couples and factors of successful marriage in Iran. Journal of Systemic Therapies, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 43–64.
[25] Azimi Lolati, H., Hosseini, S. H., Khalilian, A., et al. (2005). Postpartum depression in clients at health care centers in Sari. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 31–42.
[26] Ebadatpur, B. (2000). Validation of Communication Patterns Questionnaire (Master’s Thesis). Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Teacher Training University of Tehran, Iran.
[27] Nazifi, M., Mokarami, H., Akbaritabar, A., et al. (2014). Reliability, Validity and Factor Structure of the Persian Translation of General Health Questionnire (GHQ-28) in Hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Journal of Fasa University of Medical Sciences, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 336–342.
[28] Garussi Farshi, M. T., Mehriar, A. H., and Ghazi tabatabaee, S. M. (2001). Application of New Neo Personality Test (NEO) and Analysis of its Characteristics and Factor Structure among Iranian University Students. Journal of Humanities, vol. 11, no. 39, pp. 173–198.
[29] Papp, L. M., Goeke-Morey, M. C., and Cummings, E. M. (2007). Linkages between spouses psychological distress and marital conflict in the home. Journal of Family Psychology, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 533–537.
[30] Gottman, J. M. and Notarius, C. I. (2000). Decade review: observing marital interaction. Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 927–947.
[31] Khodakarami, B., Masoomi, S. Z., and Asadi, R. (2017). The status and marital satisfaction factors in nulliparous pregnant females attending clinics in Asadabad City during years 2015 and 2016. Avicenna Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Care, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 52–59.
[32] Bakhshi, H., Asadpour, M., and Khodadadizadeh, A. (2007). Correlation between marital satisfaction and depression among couples in Rafsanjan. Journal of Qazvin University of Medical Science, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 37–43.
[33] Vaijayanthimala, K., Kumari, K. B., and Panda, B. (2004). Socio-economic heterogomy and marital satisfaction. Human Ecology, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 9–11.
[34] Karney, B. R. and Bradbury, T. N. (2005). Contextual influences on marriage: Implications for policy and intervention. Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 171–174.
[35] Kardan-Souraki, M., Asadpour, I., Mohammadpour, R. A., et al. (2016). A review of marital intimacy-enhancing interventions among married individuals. Global Journal of Health Science, vol. 8, no. 8, p. 53109.
[36] Burgess, S., Propper, C., and Aassve, A. (2003). The role of income in marriage and divorce transitions among young Americans. Journal of Population Economics, vol. 16, pp. 455–475.
[37] Nunley, J. M. and Seals, A. (2010). The effects of household income volatility on divorce. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 69, no. 3, pp. 983–1010.
[38] Delaney, A. L. and Sharabi, L. L. (2020). Relational uncertainty and interference from a partner as predictors of demand/withdraw in couples with depressive symptoms. Western Journal of Communication, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 58–78.
[39] Gottman, J. M. N. C. (2002). Marital in 20th century and research and for 21st century. Family Process, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 159–197.
[40] Plooy, K. D. and Beer, R. D. (2018). Effective interactions: communication and high levels of marital satisfaction. Journal of Psychology in Africa, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 161–167.
[2] Lavner, J. A., Karney, B. R., and Bradbury, T. N. (2016). Does couples' communication predict marital satisfaction, or does marital satisfaction predict communication? Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 78, no. 3, pp. 680–694.
[3] Narimani, M., Pouresmali, A., Mikaeili, N., et al. (2015). The mediating role of couple communication patterns in the relationship between enduring vulnerabilities and marital burnout in the divorce- seeking couples. Journal of Family Psychology, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 51–66.
[4] Mitchell, J. W. and Gamarel, K. E. (2018). Constructive communication patterns and associated factors among male couples. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 79–96.
[5] Chi, P., Epstein, N. B., Fang, X., et al. (2013). Similarity of relationship standards, couple communication patterns, and marital satisfaction among Chinese couples. Journal of Family Psychology, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 806–816.
[6] Gilbert, R. L., Murphy, N. A., and Ávalos, M. C. (2011). Communication patterns and satisfaction levels in three-dimensional versus real-life intimate relationships. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 14, no. 10, pp. 585–589.
[7] Overall, N. C. and McNulty, J. K. (2017). What type of communication during conflict is beneficial for intimate relationships? Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 13, pp. 1–5.
[8] Yoo, H., Bartle-Haring, S., Day, R. D., et al. (2014). Couple communication, emotional and sexual intimacy, and relationship satisfaction. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 275–293.
[9] Crenshaw, A. O., Christensen, A., Baucom, D. H., et al. (2017). Revised scoring and improved reliability for the Communication Patterns Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 913–925.
[10] Falconier, M. K. and Epstein, N. B. (2011). Female-demand/male-withdraw communication in Argentinian couples: a mediating factor between economic strain and relationship distress. Personal Relationships, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 586–603.
[11] Litzinger, S. and Gordon, K. C. (2005). Exploring relationships among communication, sexual satisfaction, and marital satisfaction. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 409–424.
[12] Jones, A. C., Robinson, W. D., and Seedall, R. B. (2018). The role of sexual communication in couples' sexual outcomes: a dyadic path analysis. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 606–623.
[13] Denton, W. H. and Burleson, B. R. (2007). The initiator style questionnaire: a scale to assess initiator tendency in couples. Personal Relationships, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 245–268.
[14] Zaheri, F., Dolatian, M., Shariati, M., et al. (2016). Effective factors in marital satisfaction in perspective of Iranian women and men: a systematic review. Electronic Physician, vol. 8, no. 12, pp. 3369–3377.
[15] Overall, N. C., Fletcher, G. J., Simpson, J. A., et al. (2009). Regulating partners in intimate relationships: the costs and benefits of different communication strategies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 96, no. 3, pp. 620–639.
[16] Baucom, K. J., Sevier, M., Eldridge, K. A., et al. (2011). Observed communication in couples two years after integrative and traditional behavioral couple therapy: outcome and link with five-year follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, vol. 79, no. 5, pp. 565–576.
[17] Schofield, M. J., Mumford, N., Jurkovic, D., et al. (2012). Short and long-term effectiveness of couple counselling: a study protocol. BMC Public Health, vol. 12, p. 735.
[18] Christensen, A. and Doss, B. D. (2017). Integrative behavioral couple therapy. Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 13, pp. 111–114.
[19] Alonso Ferres, M., Valor Segura, I., and Expósito Jiménez, F. (2019). Couple conflict-facing responses from a gender perspective: emotional intelligence as a differential pattern. Psychiatry International, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 147–156.
[20] Han, K., Weed, N. C., and Butcher, J. N. (2003). Dyadic agreement on the MMPI-2. Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 603–615.
[21] Gattis, K. S., Berns, S., Simpson, L. E., et al. (2004). Birds of a feather or strange birds? Ties among personality dimensions, similarity, and marital quality. Journal of Family Psychology, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 564–574.
[22] Watson, D., Klohnen, E. C., Casillas, A., et al. (2004). Match makers and deal breakers: analyses of assortative.mating in newlywed couples. Journal of Personality, vol. 72, no. 5, pp. 1029–1068.
[23] Dorrance Hall, E., Ma, M., Azimova, D., et al. (2020). The mediating role of family and cultural food beliefs on the relationship between family communication patterns and diet and health issues across racial/ethnic groups. Health Communication, vol. 9, pp. 1–13.
[24] Daneshpour, M., Asoodeh, M. H., Khalili, S., et al. (2011). Self described happy couples and factors of successful marriage in Iran. Journal of Systemic Therapies, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 43–64.
[25] Azimi Lolati, H., Hosseini, S. H., Khalilian, A., et al. (2005). Postpartum depression in clients at health care centers in Sari. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 31–42.
[26] Ebadatpur, B. (2000). Validation of Communication Patterns Questionnaire (Master’s Thesis). Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Teacher Training University of Tehran, Iran.
[27] Nazifi, M., Mokarami, H., Akbaritabar, A., et al. (2014). Reliability, Validity and Factor Structure of the Persian Translation of General Health Questionnire (GHQ-28) in Hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Journal of Fasa University of Medical Sciences, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 336–342.
[28] Garussi Farshi, M. T., Mehriar, A. H., and Ghazi tabatabaee, S. M. (2001). Application of New Neo Personality Test (NEO) and Analysis of its Characteristics and Factor Structure among Iranian University Students. Journal of Humanities, vol. 11, no. 39, pp. 173–198.
[29] Papp, L. M., Goeke-Morey, M. C., and Cummings, E. M. (2007). Linkages between spouses psychological distress and marital conflict in the home. Journal of Family Psychology, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 533–537.
[30] Gottman, J. M. and Notarius, C. I. (2000). Decade review: observing marital interaction. Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 927–947.
[31] Khodakarami, B., Masoomi, S. Z., and Asadi, R. (2017). The status and marital satisfaction factors in nulliparous pregnant females attending clinics in Asadabad City during years 2015 and 2016. Avicenna Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Care, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 52–59.
[32] Bakhshi, H., Asadpour, M., and Khodadadizadeh, A. (2007). Correlation between marital satisfaction and depression among couples in Rafsanjan. Journal of Qazvin University of Medical Science, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 37–43.
[33] Vaijayanthimala, K., Kumari, K. B., and Panda, B. (2004). Socio-economic heterogomy and marital satisfaction. Human Ecology, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 9–11.
[34] Karney, B. R. and Bradbury, T. N. (2005). Contextual influences on marriage: Implications for policy and intervention. Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 171–174.
[35] Kardan-Souraki, M., Asadpour, I., Mohammadpour, R. A., et al. (2016). A review of marital intimacy-enhancing interventions among married individuals. Global Journal of Health Science, vol. 8, no. 8, p. 53109.
[36] Burgess, S., Propper, C., and Aassve, A. (2003). The role of income in marriage and divorce transitions among young Americans. Journal of Population Economics, vol. 16, pp. 455–475.
[37] Nunley, J. M. and Seals, A. (2010). The effects of household income volatility on divorce. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 69, no. 3, pp. 983–1010.
[38] Delaney, A. L. and Sharabi, L. L. (2020). Relational uncertainty and interference from a partner as predictors of demand/withdraw in couples with depressive symptoms. Western Journal of Communication, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 58–78.
[39] Gottman, J. M. N. C. (2002). Marital in 20th century and research and for 21st century. Family Process, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 159–197.
[40] Plooy, K. D. and Beer, R. D. (2018). Effective interactions: communication and high levels of marital satisfaction. Journal of Psychology in Africa, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 161–167.