Studying coping styles of women with the challenges of the marriage stage based on their identity style

The purpose of this research was to study the methods of women's coping with the challenges of the marriage stage based on their identity style. The research method was qualitative and phenomenological. Data were collected through a semi-structured in-depth interview. The studied society included married women who had been married for at least five years. Sampling was performed purposefully and interviews continued until data saturation. Before the interview, participants were given Berzonsky's Identity Style Inventory (ISI-6G) and their scores were calculated in three identity styles. The number of participants was 13. The method of data analysis was Colaizzi's seven-step method. By asking questions about how participants cope with challenges, important themes were extracted and coded. The main themes of coping strategy with the challenges for women with an informational identity style were: "dialogue", "problem-solving within the couple's boundaries", "adapting to real conditions", "flexibility in solving problems" and "existential awareness". The main themes of coping strategy with the challenges for women with normative identity style were: "relying on social capital", "following pre-written patterns", "gradual changing" and "direct dialogue through sending the message". The main themes of coping strategy with the challenges for women with diffuse-avoidant style were: "passive solutions", "authoritative solution" and “the inability feeling in solving challenges". According to the obtained themes on how to cope with women's challenges based on identity style, counselors can use the findings of this study in pre-marriage counseling and preparation training.