Designing and Compiling a Model of Marital Adjustment Based on the Dimensions of Intelligence for Compatible and Incompatible Couples Living in Kermanshah City, Iran

The family is the smallest unit of society. People marry to start their families. The form and characteristics of the family depend on social, historical, and ecological conditions. Marriage is a couple's internal and external union as husband and wife to start a happy and eternal family based on faith in one God. Marriage is a bond that couples are expected to enjoy, but it is observed that some couples do not enjoy this bond. Therefore, considering the importance of marital adjustment in the health and stability of the family system, it is essential to identify the factors contributing to this adjustment. Thus, this research aimed to design and compile a model of marital compatibility based on intelligence dimensions in couples Living in Kermanshah City, Iran.

This research was a qualitative study with a content analysis approach conducted through group discussion and semi–structured interviews. The statistical population of this research included all family specialists, as well as all compatible and incompatible couples aged 20 to 55 years living in Kermanshah City, Iran, in 2022–2023. In the first stage, the purpose of the research was to assess educational needs. Hence, the researcher selected the people referred to the family court and counseling centers in a 3–month process and agreed to cooperate. Thus, using the snowball method, the addresses of one couple from each couple who were almost like themselves, willing to cooperate in the research, and were known as compatible couples were obtained. In this way, 20 couples were selected. Then, with their coordination, the interview time was determined, and they were informed. The sampling method at this stage was purposive. The initial evaluation was done to assess educational needs through focused group discussions and semi–structured interviews. The focused group discussion was conducted with married men and women, compatible and incompatible couples, or those with a marital history to obtain richer and deeper information. In this context, 10 group discussions and 10 interviews were conducted. The interviews were recorded with the participant's permission and transcribed verbatim for further analysis. To direct the interviews, a guide was prepared by reviewing the texts, a preliminary study, and the opinions of experts and professors in the field of family counseling and psychotherapy. The interviews were conducted with 12 open–ended questions. Next, the participants were selected in group discussions with maximum diversity in terms of education, age, and social, economic, and cultural status. It should be noted that ethical obligations were considered to protect the participants' rights. Finally, the package was compiled and designed after coding and categorizing with MAXQDA software.

Ten professors of Razi University and Islamic Azad University of Kermanshah, who were members of the Psychology and Counseling departments, participated in this research. Then, until the theoretical data saturation, semi–structured interviews were conducted with 10 experts and 40 couples, and the model of marital adjustment based on the dimensions of intelligence was designed. The results showed that the components of moral intelligence include honesty and truthfulness, perseverance and persistence for the right (standing for the right), accepting responsibility to serve others, and the ability to forgive one's and other's mistakes. Also, based on the experts' opinion, the spiritual components in the educational package of marital adjustment based on the dimensions of intelligence include the production of personal meaning in life. Finally, the main components of emotional intelligence include problem–solving, happiness, stress tolerance, emotional self–awareness, optimism, flexibility, interpersonal relationships, social responsibility, and empathy.

Different treatment methods have recently been employed to help couples improve their marital relations. In this research, the model of marital adjustment based on intelligence was examined, and based on the research findings, the developed model of marital compatibility based on intelligence can play an essential role in the marital adjustment of couples. It is necessary to help couples solve matrimonial problems and know the factors and causes affecting marital incompatibility and compatibility.