A Causal Model of the Tendency to Emotional Divorce based on Satisfying Basic Needs, Metacognitive Beliefs Mediated by Perception of Spouse's Selfless Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to the causal model of the tendency to emotional divorce based on the satisfaction of basic needs and metacognitive beliefs with the mediation of the perception of the spouse's selfless behaviors. The current research is of an applied type and its implementation method is descriptive of the correlation type. The statistical population of the present study included all couples in Kermanshah City. Among them,192 couples (384 people) were selected from different areas of the city through convenience sampling. Then, the desired data were analyzed using the emotional divorce questionnaires of Gottman (1999), the satisfaction of basic psychological needs of Guardia, Deci, and Ryan (2000), the metacognitive beliefs of Wells (1997), and the perception of the spouse's self-sacrificing behaviors by Harper and Figures (2008) were collected. The results of data analysis using Pearson correlation statistical tests and structural equations showed: The indirect effect of metacognitive beliefs on emotional divorce through the perception of the spouse's selfless behaviors is 0.47, which is significant at the P<0.05 level, the indirect effect of satisfying basic needs on emotional divorce through the perception of the spouse's selfless behaviors is 0.24. It was significant at the P<0.05 level, and the direct effect of the spouse's selfless behaviors on emotional divorce was 0.58, which was significant at the P<0.05 level. There is a meaningful Understanding of the selfless behavior of the spouse is an important and influential factor in promoting mental health, and by identifying the factors along with proper planning, it is possible to reduce emotional divorce and increase basic psychological needs and metacognitive beliefs.