The effect of differentiation, attachment styles and family functioning on couple burnout mediated by emotional intelligence

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of differentiation, attachment styles and family functioning on couple burnout by mediating emotional intelligence. The research method is correlation. The statistical population of the study was all couples living in Tabriz with at least 5 years of common life, who were 25 to 60 years old. In the present study, 600 (300 couples) were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method (based on urban areas) in the first stage of the community. And if they have entry criteria including age range of 25-60 years; the duration of marriage is at least 5 years; lack of mental disorders; lack of experience in counseling and psychological interventions in the last two years; and willingness to participate in research voluntarily, was selected as research sample. Couple Burnout (Pines, 1996) Family Measurement(Epstein, Baldwin & Bishop, 1983), Attachment Styles (Bartholomew & Horowitz 1991), Emotional Intelligence (Bradberry and Greaves, 2005)and Differentiation Questionnaires (Skoworon & Fridlander, 1998)were used to collect data. Questionnaires were administered to 300 couple and data analysis was performed on 300 units (average scores of each couple). The results of path analysis showed that the components of differentiation have an indirect effect on marital boredom mediated by emotional intelligence(P< 0.05). Also Differentiation has a direct effect on boredom (P< 0.05). According to the results, components of family functioning have an indirect effect on marital boredom mediated by emotional intelligence(P< 0.05).  Also components of family functioning have a direct effect on boredom(P< 0.05).  According to the results, attachment styles have an indirect effect on marital boredom mediated by emotional intelligence(P< 0.05).  Also, attachment styles have a direct effect on couple burnout(P< 0.05).