The effectiveness of awareness and interpersonal choice program in reducing constraining beliefs about mate selection and improving attitude to know about one’s partner

Considering the social changes in marriage, including the increase in marriages with cultural differences, greater independence in choosing a partner, and changing individual preferences in marital relationships, pre-marriage education is essential as a preventive approach. The rising divorce rate and increasing age of marriage are also concerning in our society.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a pre-marriage education program based on awareness and interpersonal choices on constraining beliefs about mate selection and attitude to know about one’s partner.

The present research method was semi-experimental, of the pre-test, post-test type with a control group and tow months follow-up. The statistical population of this study included all single young people aged 21 to 30 in the city of Ahvaz and 40 participants were selected using the available sampling method based on entry and exit criteria. To collect data, scales of constraining beliefs about mate selection (Rajabi et al, 2018) and improving attitude to know about one’s partner (Van Epp & et al, 2008) were used. A 8-session pre-marriage education protocol based on awareness and interpersonal choices (Van Epp, 2015) was also used for intervention. One-way analysis of variance tests with repeated measures and SPSS software version 26 were used for data analysis

The findings showed that the awareness and interpersonal choice education program led to a reduction in limiting beliefs about spouse selection and an improvement in attitudes towards understanding a spouse (p< 0.01) in the experimental group compared to the control group. On the other hand, the results of the Bonferroni paired test showed that the scores from the pre-test to post-test and pre-test to follow-up were significantly different, but no significant difference was observed between the post-test and follow-up scores in the dependent variables, indicating the stability of the educational program's effect.

according to the findings of the study and the changes in marriage patterns, it is suggested that therapists and clinical specialists use this program‎ to teach young people to reduce constraining beliefs about mate selection and improve attitudes to knowing about one’s partner accurately and to avoid in engaging in early emotional relationships, commitment and having sex before marriage.