مقایسه سازگاری و صمیمیت زناشویی زنان با و بدون قربانی سوءاستفاده عاطفی

Introduction: Marriage, as a fundamental social institution, constitutes the foundation of intimate and social relationships and plays a central role in psychological well being, emotional stability, and social cohesion (Sadeghi, 2019). Within marriage, men and women form a dynamic family unit through symbolic bonds rooted in instincts, cultural rituals, emotional attachment, and mutual commitment. Nevertheless, many individuals show a recurrent tendency to enter emotionally harmful relationships, a pattern that extends beyond marriage to relationships with family members, friends, and colleagues (Powling et al., 2024). One of the most prevalent yet concealed forms of relational harm is emotional abuse. Emotional and psychological abuse refers to persistent patterns of behaviors aimed at controlling, humiliating, intimidating, or isolating the victim through verbal and non verbal interactions (Teaster et al., 2020). Such behaviors include chronic criticism, emotional neglect, manipulation, gaslighting, and inducing guilt, which gradually undermine self esteem and emotional security (Abusbaitan et al., 2025). Evidence from Iranian studies indicates that emotional abuse is highly prevalent among married women, and cultural norms often lead to silence, tolerance, and underreporting, thereby intensifying its negative impact on mental health, emotional adjustment, and marital relationships (Payazad, 2019; Pourbakhtiar et al., 2024; Ahmadi, 2019). Given the critical role of marital intimacy and adjustment in marital satisfaction and psychological health (Zarch et al., 2014; Bagarozzi, 2001), examining differences in these variables among women with and without experiences of emotional abuse is of substantial importance.

Methodology: The present study employed a causal comparative research design. The statistical population consisted of married women aged 25–40 years residing in Tehran who had sought services from counseling and psychological centers during the study period. A total of 160 participants were selected through convenience sampling and assigned to two equal groups: 80 women with experiences of emotional abuse and 80 women without such experiences. The two groups were matched on demographic and background variables, including duration of marriage, educational level, employment status, history of divorce, and family upbringing. Data collection instruments included the Dyadic Adjustment Scale developed by Spanier (1976), the Bagarozzi Marital Intimacy Needs Questionnaire (Bagarozzi, 2001), and the Gini Nicarti Emotional Abuse Questionnaire, all of which have demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability in Iranian samples (Karami, 2015; Hassanzadeh, 2020; Naseri, 2013). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential methods, including multivariate analysis of variance and independent samples t tests, with SPSS version 26, following methodological recommendations for comparative studies (Memon et al., 2020).

Findings: Demographic findings indicated that the highest age frequency among women with experiences of emotional abuse was in the 30–34‑year age group, whereas among non‑abused women it was in the 35–40‑year age group; the lowest frequencies were observed in the 35–40‑year range for abused women and the 25–29‑year range for non‑abused women. Regarding educational level, the lowest frequencies were observed among participants with doctoral and below‑diploma degrees, while the highest frequency was related to diploma and associate degree levels. Descriptive statistical indices revealed that the mean level of marital adjustment was higher among women with experiences of emotional abuse compared to non‑abused women, and a similar pattern was observed for overall marital intimacy, with abused women reporting higher mean scores than their non‑abused counterparts. However, component‑level analyses of marital adjustment showed that non‑abused women obtained higher mean scores in dyadic satisfaction, dyadic consensus, dyadic cohesion, and affectional expression than women with experiences of emotional abuse. Furthermore, examination of marital intimacy dimensions demonstrated that physical intimacy was the only domain in which abused women reported a higher mean score, whereas in all other intimacy dimensions—including intellectual, sexual, temporal, spiritual, social‑recreational, psychological, emotional, and aesthetic intimacy—non‑abused women reported consistently higher mean levels. The findings revealed significant differences between women with and without experiences of emotional abuse in both marital adjustment and marital intimacy. Multivariate analysis showed that women who had experienced emotional abuse reported significantly lower overall levels of marital adjustment and intimacy compared to non abused women. At the component level, significant group differences were observed in dyadic consensus, dyadic cohesion, and affectional expression, with abused women scoring lower in these dimensions, while no significant difference was found in dyadic satisfaction. Moreover, significant differences were found in several dimensions of marital intimacy, including emotional, psychological, spiritual, aesthetic, and temporal intimacy, all of which were lower among women with experiences of emotional abuse. In contrast, no significant differences were observed in intellectual and sexual intimacy. These results indicate that emotional abuse primarily disrupts the emotional, psychological, and existential dimensions of marital relationships rather than uniformly affecting all aspects of intimacy (Bagarozzi, 2001; Quan et al., 2025).

Discussion and Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrate that experiences of emotional abuse play a critical role in weakening marital adjustment and marital intimacy among women. Emotional abuse erodes emotional security, self worth, and interpersonal trust and disrupts healthy communication patterns, leading to emotional withdrawal, maladaptive interaction styles, and reduced marital functioning (Payazad, 2019; Ebrahimi, 2017). Consistent with previous research, the findings suggest that exposure to emotionally abusive relationships is associated with poorer mental health, lower emotional and psychological intimacy, and decreased marital satisfaction (Dolatian et al., 2019; Hassanzadeh, 2020; Shokour, 2016). These outcomes highlight that emotional abuse is not merely an individual issue but a significant familial and social concern with long term psychological consequences (Noorani et al., 2017; Sadeghi, 2019). Therefore, early identification of emotional abuse and the implementation of preventive and therapeutic interventions—such as cognitive behavioral couple therapy, communication skills training, and programs aimed at enhancing emotional differentiation—are essential for improving marital relationship quality, promoting women’s mental health, and preventing the continuation of the cycle of abuse within families (Bagarozzi, 2001; Ebrahimi, 2017).