Study of the lived experience of divorced and divorced couples in Ahvaz and development of a divorce prevention education package

Increasing divorce rates and family separation can lead to social harm in communities. High divorce rates have numerous direct and indirect economic, social and cultural consequences. In Iran, the spread of this issue has caused concerns among psychologists and other experts, as the experience of couples at risk of divorce and divorced couples can pave the way for understanding the reasons behind divorce. The present study aims to investigate the lived experience of couples at risk of divorce and divorced couples in Ahvaz and to develop a divorce prevention training package. Thus, samples of the present study, based on a qualitative approach and grounded theory method, were selected via purposive sampling method from all men and women who applied for divorce or were divorced in Ahvaz; sample members reached theoretical saturation with 32 participants (18 women and 14 men). The results obtained from the interviews based on Strauss and Corbin (1998) model were analyzed in three stages of open, axial and selective coding. The results included 126 free codes which were reduced to 15 concepts after the final analysis; and finally, 5 main categories were extracted. In the axial coding stage, marital dissatisfaction was identified as the central category and a relationship model was drawn among the categories. In the selective coding stage, three general training codes including training for acceptance, training for change, and training for cognition were extracted, based on which the final training package was designed.