Comparison of Object Relations and Integrative Self-Knowledge Components in Cohabitation and Official Marriage

his study aimed to compare the Object Relations and Integrative Self-knowledge between officially married couples and cohabitants. The statistical population of this causal-comparative study included all officially married and cohabitant couples between 18 to 40 years old living in Iran in 2021. 120 men and women were selected by convenience sampling method and filled out Bell Object Relations Inventory (Bell, 2007) and Integrative Self-knowledge Scale (Ghorbani, Watson & Harges, 2008). To analyze the data of this study, multivariate analysis of variance was applied. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in Object Relations and Integrative Self-knowledge components between cohabitants and officially married couples. Findings of this study can contribute to better psychological understanding of this emerging phenomenon in the transitional society of Iran, resolve partly the basic contradictions in the results of recent researches and open new horizons for future studies.