Meta-Analysis of Iranians Researches on the Effect of Couple Therapy and Family Therapy in Reducing Divorce of Couples Approaching Divorce in the Years (2011-2020)

Divorce and marital conflict are important factors in the occurrence of many destructive behaviors in the family and society.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the effect of couple therapy and family therapy approaches (third-wave therapies, postmodern approaches, systemic, cognitive-behavioral approaches, schema therapy, Guttman's couple therapy, object relationships, and imago-therapy) on reducing divorce couples approaching divorce.

This research uses a meta-analysis method to integrate the results of different research to determine the extent of the effect of couple therapy and family therapy approaches on reducing divorce. 19 studies that were methodologically reviewable and were conducted within the Islamic Republic of Iran during the years 89 to 98 were selected and a meta-analysis was performed on them. The data search sources were the Scientific Database (SID), Noormags, Magiran,  The comprehensive portal of humanities (ensani.ir), and the Islamic World Science Citation Database (ISC). Analysis Data and effect size calculations were performed using CMA2 software and hedge g index.

The findings of this meta-analysis showed the magnitude of the effect of couple therapy and family therapy on couples on the approaching of divorce for fixed effects (0.73) and random effects (0.34). Examination of the heterogeneity of the effects using Cochran's Q test showed that square I is equal to 96.63 and the value of Q is equal to 2502/47 and is significant (p <0.01). As a result, the effect sizes are heterogeneous and a stochastic model should be considered to analyze the effects. Therefore, the value of the random effect, which is 0.34, is taken as the effect size index. According to Cohen's table, the effect size is estimated to be 0.34 small.  

Findings show that the success rate of couple therapy and family therapy approaches for couples approaching divorce is more effective than no treatment, but not to the extent that it is mentioned as a suitable treatment for couples on the verge of divorce. Based on this, the size of the effect obtained in the research is in a small range. In addition to therapeutic approaches, therapists in the treatment process should pay attention to the neglected factors described in this article.