بررسی مقایسه‌ای ذهنیت‌های طرحواره‌ای و سبک‌های مقابله‌ای و تاثیر آن بر رضایت زناشویی در زنان خانواده‌های چندهمسر و تک‌همسر شهر زاهدان 1403-1404

Comparative Study of Schema Modes and Coping Styles and Their Impact on Marital Satisfaction in Women from Polygamous and Monogamous Families in Zahedan city "2024-2025" (Iran)



ABSTRACT

Introduction: The Family, as the most fundamental social institution, plays a key role in shaping identity, values, and human relationships (Aboui et al., 2023). Studies show that women in polygamous marriages experience higher levels of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem8, compared to women in monogamous marriages (Pangkam, 2024). These marriages often present many challenges, mainly revolving around fairness and justice in the relationship between spouses. One of these challenges is the unequal distribution of income, love, and attention, which directly affects the marital satisfaction of women in these families (Nouruddin and Salma, 2024). As stated in the study by Yilmaz (2022), women in polygamous families, especially senior wives, experience significant negative emotions, which often stem from the spouse's injustice and significantly reduce their marital satisfaction. Schema Modes and coping styles play an important role in the quality of marital relationships. This study aimed to compare Schema Modes and coping styles and their effect on marital satisfaction in women in polygamous and monogamous families.

Methodology: The research method is descriptive-correlational and causal-comparative research. The statistical population of this study included women from monogamous and polygamous families referring to health centers of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences and health and treatment homes residing in Zahedan city during the period 2024-2025. The sampling method was purposive. The method of determining the sample size was based on previous studies (for example, the study by Mojahed and Birshak, 2003). The total number of selected samples was 120 people. The sampling method for the first group, namely women from polygamous families in Zahedan city, was purposive and the sample size was 60 people. And the comparison group, namely the group of women from monogamous families from women living in Zahedan city, was also selected as a sample of 60 people, which was selected as a counterpart to the first group in a convenience manner. Also, the present study was approved and implemented with the ethics approval ID IR.ZAUMS.REC.1404.021 of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. The sample size for each group was 60 people. In order to conduct this study, the required questionnaires including Lobsthal et al.'s Schema Modes (2010), Bowman's coping styles (1999), and Enrich's marital satisfaction (1989) were collected in person and by the researcher visiting health centers and health homes. In this study, independent t-test, simultaneous regression analysis, and Pearson correlation were performed using SPSS26 software.

Findings: In the monogamous group, most people had a high school diploma, 25 (41.7%) and in the polygamous group, most people had a high school diploma, 31 (51.7%). According to the chi-square test, there is a significant difference between the number of people based on education in the two groups (p<0.05). Therefore, education is controlled in the research analysis. The average age of monogamous people was 32.9 and its standard deviation was 7.26, and the average age of polygamous people was 34.33 and its standard deviation was 8.72.The results of the independent t-test showed that the average of the vulnerable child (22.55), undisciplined child (15.15) and punitive parent (15.20) mentalities in polygamy were higher than in monogamy, and the average of the happy child (38.39) and healthy adult (40.85) Schema Modes and marital satisfaction (41.06) were higher in monogamy than in polygamy. However, the average of the egocentric coping styles (20.05) and avoidance (30.75) were higher in polygamy than in monogamy. Result shows that the independent t-test for comparing schema mentalities showed that the difference between the two groups of polygamous and monogamous women in the schema mentalities of vulnerable child (-2.6), undisciplined child (-2.2), happy child (4.68), punitive parent mentality (-2.3) and healthy adult mentality (4.95) was significant (p<0.05). According to the mean scores in Table 1, the mean mentalities of vulnerable child (22.55), undisciplined child (15.15) and punitive parent (15.20) were higher in polygamous women than in monogamous women, and the mean mentalities of happy child (38.39) and healthy adult (40.85) were higher in monogamous women than in polygamous women.

Also, the independent t-test for comparing coping styles showed that the difference between the two groups of polygamous and monogamous women in the coping styles of egocentric and avoidance styles was significant (p<0.05). According to the average scores in Table 1, the average of egocentric (20.05) and avoidance (30.75) coping styles was higher in polygamous women than in monogamous women. In addition, the results show that the independent t-test for comparing marital satisfaction showed that the difference between the two groups of polygamous and monogamous women in marital satisfaction was significant (p<0.05). According to the average scores in Table 1, the average of marital satisfaction in monogamous women (41.06) was higher than in polygamous women (36.66). The results of the regression analysis showed that the schema mentalities had a 46% and 33.8% predictive power of marital satisfaction in women in polygamous and monogamous families.

Conclusions: Designing psychological interventions to modify unhealthy mentalities and teach constructive coping styles to women in polygamous families can help improve the quality of marital relationships. Also, promoting psychological awareness regarding the impact of polygamy on mental and family health seems essential.

Keywords: Schematic mentalities, coping styles, marital satisfaction, polygamous, monogamous.