The Effectiveness of Communication Skills Training on Marital Satisfaction of Female Students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Communication is a special skill to acquire high human values. Lack of this skill creates a serious crisis in the family foundation and doubles the necessity of special behavioral-psychological interventions. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of communication skills training on marital satisfaction of female students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up period with a control group. The statistical population included all female students of School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, from which 30 people were selected by convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent communication skills training for ten sessions twice a week and the control group did not receive any intervention. The data were obtained using the Enrich Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMS) (1989). Finally, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and SPSS software were used to analyze the data.

In the experimental group, the mean and standard deviation (SD) of marital satisfaction increased from 126.20 ± 8.76 before the intervention to 155.60 ± 9.47 after the intervention and to 162.60 ± 9.26 in the follow-up stage. Moreover, in the control group, the mean and SD of female marital satisfaction decreased from 126.26 ± 10.64 before the intervention to 124.46 ± 10.89 after the intervention and to 121.40 ± 8.74 during the follow-up period (P < 0.01). The difference in the experimental group in all three stages was statistically significant, except for the post-test and follow-up stages, which was not statistically significant (P > 0.01)

Communication skills training with respect to relative values in the face of couples' absolute perceptions reduces the amount of impulsive behaviors and increases the couple's intellectual problem-solving skills, and with this process, the couple's marital satisfaction increases and this effect will remain over time. As a result, this training strategy is recommended for all family specialists and counselors.