Erosive Transition: Divorce-Seeking Couples' Interpretation of Family Interference

One of the main reasons for divorce is the interference of extended family in a couple's marriage. This qualitative study aims to look into how couples seeking a divorce understand family-related interference. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 Yazdi couples on the brink of divorcing and who experienced serious marital difficulties, utilizing grounded theory approaches. Data were collected until saturation using convenient and purposeful sampling. Seven categories—continuity of dependency, parents' desire for happiness, multi-faceted differences, susceptibility of couples to interference, biased consultation, passive arousal, and imbalanced commitment—were extracted from the data. The central category has been defined as "erosive transition," denoting how the young couple comprehends and construes family-related intervention. Young couples experience a challenging transition as they establish an independent marital relationship, and their response to this transition significantly impacts their future outcomes and overall well-being. Examining the experiences of couples on the brink of divorce may raise the awareness and focus of specialists and helping professionals in the field of counseling, aiming to provide support and assistance to couples. Additionally, this can enhance the comprehension of couples and families regarding the impacts and contexts of interferences.