THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION THEORY BASED ON COMMUNICATION THEORY ON DISTINCTION AND COUPLES' MARITAL CONFLICTS

Marital conflicts cause harm in the relationship between couples. The purpose of
this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment based on the theory of communication
framework to increase differentiation and reduce marital conflicts.
Materials & Methods: The research project was semi-experimental with pre-test-post-test design and
follow-up with the control group. The statistical population of this study included all couples referring
to counseling centers in Kerman in 2019. Eighteen couples from counseling centers were selected as
available as a sample, and couple therapy sessions based on communication framework theory were
conducted in 8 60-minute sessions. But the control group did not intervene. The research tools included
a differentiation questionnaire (Scorn and Friedlander, 1998) and marital conflict scale (Sanaei-Zaker,
2008). SPSS 23 software and covariance analysis test with repeated measurements and Bonfroni test
were used for data analysis.
Results: The results showed that communication-based therapy could increase discrimination and
reduce marital conflict (P <0.0001).
Discussion & Conclusion: According to the obtained results, treatment based on communication
framework theory can be used to increase differentiation and reduce marital conflicts. Therefore,
therapists are recommended to use communication-based therapy to reduce couples' problems and
increase marital adjustment