The Relationship between Marital Conflicts and Early Maladaptive Schemas with Psychological Well-being among Couples in Tehran
SOUTH JOURNALS PUBLICATION (SJP)
(Online Publication)
http://www.southjournals.com
South Journal of Educational Psychology and Counseling
http://southjournals.com/ojs-2.4.5/index.php/sjepc
The Relationship between Marital Conflicts and Early Maladaptive Schemas
with Psychological Well-being among Couples in Tehran
Maryam Jalali*1 , Syead Hossin Hossini 2
1
(M.A Student of Counseling, Islamic Azad University,KhominiShahr Branch, Iran).
2
(M.A Student of Counseling, Hormozgan University.Hormozgan, Iran).
*Corresponding author : Maryam jalali
Abstract:
The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between marital conflicts
and early maladaptive schemas with psychological well-being in couples in Tehran. The
present study is an applied one in terms of objective and a descriptive one and of survey
type in terms of collecting data. The statistical population in this research consisted of all
couples referred to counseling centers in Tehran that through random sampling method, 200
individuals were selected and participated in the study. To collect data, three questionnaires
were used including Marital Conflict Questionnaire, Early Maladaptive Schema
Questionnaire, and Psychological Well-being Questionnaire. The collected data were
analyzed using descriptive statistical method and inferential statistical method including
correlation coefficient and multivariate regression. The results showed that there was
significant negative relationship between couples' marital conflicts and psychological wellbeing and also there was a significant negative relationship between early maladaptive
schemas and psychological well-being.
To cite this paper: Jalali, M, Hosseini, H.(2017). The Relationship between Marital Conflicts and Early
Maladaptive Schemas with Psychological Well-being among Couples in Tehran
South journal of Educational Psychology and Counseling, 4, 1, 53-59.
53
Introduction
Well-being which is an issue that has preoccupied the minds of thinkers for centuries
most recently has become the focus of a branch of psychology called positive
psychology (Aghababaei and Farahani, 2011). People, who feel higher well-being,
experience positive emotions and have a positive assessment about their surrounding
events, but people with low sense of well-being assess their situations and life events
unfavorably and experience more negative emotions such as anxiety, depression and
anger (Myers and Diener, 1995).
A sense of well-being includes both emotional components and the cognitive
components (Hosseini, Farahbakhsh and Klantar Kousheh, 2014). Psychological wellbeing is the individual's emotional and cognitive assessment of his/her life and
includes the experience of pleasant emotions, low levels of negative mood and high
life satisfaction (Clarke and Goosen, 2009), and is considered as the positive
performance in the individuals' lives (Keys, 2007). Ryff (1989) has defined
psychological well-being as an attempt for perfecting and maximizing personal
potentials. Family is one of the basic pillars of society and the most important social
unit in which well-being has been greatly considered and attention to it is of great
importance.
One of the variables which affect couples’ psychological well-being is schema. By
emphasis on schemas, Young stated that the schemas may be inactive at a special time
and then gain energy due to a change in the type of inputs received from the
environment and quickly become active. This fact may cause bias in the interpersonal
psychopathology of couples and realize as misunderstanding, distorted attitudes, false
assumptions, unrealistic goals and expectations (Young, Gluhoski and Wishar, 1997).
As defined by Young, early maladaptive schemas are immersive and surrounding
patterns or themes that are formed in childhood or adolescence, continued on the path
of life, related to the individual’s relation with self and others are intensively
inefficient. Also considering to the five basic needs, there are five areas of early
maladaptive schemas that are associated with these needs. He has identified several
special schemas for each area. Most people have at least two or three schemas. These
five areas are disconnection and rejection, impaired autonomy or performance,
impaired limits, other-directedness, over-vigilance/inhibition (Young et al., 2003). In
this study, we intend to investigate the maladaptive schemas in the field of
disconnection and rejection.
People whose schemas are in the field of disconnection and rejection cannot establish
secure and satisfying attachments to others. Such individuals believe that their need
for stability, security, affection, love and devotion will not be met. Their main
families are usually unstable (abandonment/instability), abuse (mistrust/abuse), cold
and heartless (emotional deprivation), rejected (defectiveness/shame) or isolated
(social isolation/alienation) (Young et al., 2003).
Bidadian, Bahramizadeh and Poursharifi (2011) found that the aspects of life quality
are negatively correlated with early maladaptive schemas. Yousefi et al., (2011)
showed that the schemas of mistrust/abuse, unrelenting standards/hypercriticalness,
and emotional inhibition could highly and significantly predict divorce.
Of the other variables affecting the psychological well-being is marital conflict.
Conflicts and life dissatisfaction impose excessive medical and mental costs on
society and family members. The growth of divorce rate and its psychological and
social effects can be considered as an evidence of the necessity for development of
improvement and promotion of marital satisfaction (Ghafuri, Mashhadi and
Hassanabadi, 2013). In fact, marital conflict is a kind of marital relation in which
54
there are hostile behaviors such as insult, blaming, criticizing and physical attack, and
couples feel animosity, hatred and anger towards each other, and each believe that
"his/her spouse is an incompatible and maladjusted individual who causes his/her
suffering and pain" (Farahbakhsh, 2004). Conflict becomes the inseparable and
permanent part of marriage and marital relations and if the couples could not solve it
well, it will bring about adverse effects for family (Tafreshi et al., 2013). The
relationship problems are the key points in communication approaches to family.
These approaches analyze marital conflict as a maladaptive relationship (Rezazadeh,
2008).
Therefore, regarding the issues raised and that the marital conflicts and the early
maladaptive schemas are correlated with marital health and family well-being and
affect the marital psychological well-being, the present study seeks to answer the
question that "are the marital conflicts and the early maladaptive schemas related to
psychological well-being of couples in Tehran or not?
Research method
In terms of data collection method, the research method was descriptive and of
correlational type.
Study population, sampling method and sample size: The statistical population of
this study was the couples in Tehran. In the present study, the random sampling
method was used and thus 200 people among the couples referred to counseling
centers of Tehran were selected as the sample size.
Data collection instruments
Young's Schema Questionnaire
Young and Long (1998) Schema Questionnaire (short form) was used to measure
early maladaptive schemas for exclusion and disconnection. Cronbach's alpha
coefficients for subscales of the non-clinical population were obtained 0.5-0.82. In
Shanbadi (2016), to measure the early maladaptive schemas of exclusion and
disconnection areas, the first 25 items of the Young's early maladaptive schema
questionnaire were used. Cronbach's alpha for this study was 0.79.
Marital Conflict Questionnaire (MCQ)
Marital conflict questionnaire is a 42-item questionnaire to assess conflicts between
couples developed by Sanaie in 2000. The questionnaire measures seven dimensions
of marital conflict. Collaboration reduction, reduced sex, increased emotional
reactions, increased children’s protection, reduction of family relationship with the
partner’s relatives and friends, increased personal relationship with his/her own
relatives and separating the financial affairs from each other constitute the seven
components of marital conflict questionnaire. In a study by Khazaei (2006), the scores
of all components of marital conflict questionnaire were from 0.31 to 0.82 which had
significant correlations with the total score of marital conflicts at the significance
level of 0.01.
Psychological Well-Being Scale
This scale was made by Carol Ryff in 1989. This test has 84 items and covers 6
factors. Participants answer the questions in a 6-point scale (strongly disagree to
strongly agree). Forty-seven items are scored directly and thirty-seven items are
scored reversely the grading (the number of items has been quoted in appendix); also
in the psychological well-being questionnaire, getting higher scores mean enjoying
the psychological well-being. To measure the validity of the questionnaire and assess
its relation with measures that assess the personality traits and also were considered as
psychological well-being indices, Cronbach's alpha coefficients obtained in Ryff
(1989) for self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, independence,
55
purposefulness in life, environmental mastery, and personal development were 0.93,
0.91, 0.86, 0.87, 0.90 and 0.87 respectively. In Farshad (2015), Cronbach's alpha
coefficients for self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, independence,
environmental mastery, personal development and purposefulness in life were 0.54,
0.66, 0.65, 0.53, 0.71 and 0.59, respectively; and the total score was 0.72.
Data analysis method
After collecting the data, we used descriptive and inferential methods to analyze them
that in the descriptive statistics the mean and standard deviation were calculated and
in the inferential statistics the data were analyzed using correlation coefficient and
multiple regression method.
Results
In this study, the marital conflicts and the early maladaptive schemas and their
relations with psychological well-being have been measured, and the descriptive
findings on the research variables are given in table 1.
Table 1. The descriptive findings on the research variables
Statistical indicators
No.
Mean
SD
Marital conflicts
200
5.63
0.99
Early maladaptive schemas
200
47.10
20.19
Psychological well-being
200
181.20
13.19
Min.
4.00
21.00
46.00
Max.
9.00
101.00
312.00
According to the data in the above table, for marital conflicts the mean and standard
deviation are 5.63 and 0.99, respectively; for the early maladaptive schemas, the mean
and standard deviation are 47.10 and 20.19; and for psychological well-being, the
mean and standard deviation are 181.20 and 13.19, respectively.
Statistical analysis of research hypothesis
In this study, the hypothesis has been designed in accordance with the research
subject, which to test it various statistical tests such as Pearson correlation and
multiple linear regression analysis were used that are discussed below.
The hypothesis: There is a relationship between marital conflicts and the early
maladaptive schemas with psychological well-being in couples referred to counseling
centers.
To test this hypothesis, Pearson correlation coefficient was used that the information
is presented in the following table.
Table 2. Pearson correlation coefficient for the research hypothesis
Statistical indicators Variables
1
2
Marital conflicts
Early maladaptive schemas
Psychological well-being
0.45
-0.43
**-0.31
3
-
According to Table 2, there is a significant negative relationship between marital
conflicts and psychological well-being (P
(Online Publication)
http://www.southjournals.com
South Journal of Educational Psychology and Counseling
http://southjournals.com/ojs-2.4.5/index.php/sjepc
The Relationship between Marital Conflicts and Early Maladaptive Schemas
with Psychological Well-being among Couples in Tehran
Maryam Jalali*1 , Syead Hossin Hossini 2
1
(M.A Student of Counseling, Islamic Azad University,KhominiShahr Branch, Iran).
2
(M.A Student of Counseling, Hormozgan University.Hormozgan, Iran).
*Corresponding author : Maryam jalali
Abstract:
The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between marital conflicts
and early maladaptive schemas with psychological well-being in couples in Tehran. The
present study is an applied one in terms of objective and a descriptive one and of survey
type in terms of collecting data. The statistical population in this research consisted of all
couples referred to counseling centers in Tehran that through random sampling method, 200
individuals were selected and participated in the study. To collect data, three questionnaires
were used including Marital Conflict Questionnaire, Early Maladaptive Schema
Questionnaire, and Psychological Well-being Questionnaire. The collected data were
analyzed using descriptive statistical method and inferential statistical method including
correlation coefficient and multivariate regression. The results showed that there was
significant negative relationship between couples' marital conflicts and psychological wellbeing and also there was a significant negative relationship between early maladaptive
schemas and psychological well-being.
To cite this paper: Jalali, M, Hosseini, H.(2017). The Relationship between Marital Conflicts and Early
Maladaptive Schemas with Psychological Well-being among Couples in Tehran
South journal of Educational Psychology and Counseling, 4, 1, 53-59.
53
Introduction
Well-being which is an issue that has preoccupied the minds of thinkers for centuries
most recently has become the focus of a branch of psychology called positive
psychology (Aghababaei and Farahani, 2011). People, who feel higher well-being,
experience positive emotions and have a positive assessment about their surrounding
events, but people with low sense of well-being assess their situations and life events
unfavorably and experience more negative emotions such as anxiety, depression and
anger (Myers and Diener, 1995).
A sense of well-being includes both emotional components and the cognitive
components (Hosseini, Farahbakhsh and Klantar Kousheh, 2014). Psychological wellbeing is the individual's emotional and cognitive assessment of his/her life and
includes the experience of pleasant emotions, low levels of negative mood and high
life satisfaction (Clarke and Goosen, 2009), and is considered as the positive
performance in the individuals' lives (Keys, 2007). Ryff (1989) has defined
psychological well-being as an attempt for perfecting and maximizing personal
potentials. Family is one of the basic pillars of society and the most important social
unit in which well-being has been greatly considered and attention to it is of great
importance.
One of the variables which affect couples’ psychological well-being is schema. By
emphasis on schemas, Young stated that the schemas may be inactive at a special time
and then gain energy due to a change in the type of inputs received from the
environment and quickly become active. This fact may cause bias in the interpersonal
psychopathology of couples and realize as misunderstanding, distorted attitudes, false
assumptions, unrealistic goals and expectations (Young, Gluhoski and Wishar, 1997).
As defined by Young, early maladaptive schemas are immersive and surrounding
patterns or themes that are formed in childhood or adolescence, continued on the path
of life, related to the individual’s relation with self and others are intensively
inefficient. Also considering to the five basic needs, there are five areas of early
maladaptive schemas that are associated with these needs. He has identified several
special schemas for each area. Most people have at least two or three schemas. These
five areas are disconnection and rejection, impaired autonomy or performance,
impaired limits, other-directedness, over-vigilance/inhibition (Young et al., 2003). In
this study, we intend to investigate the maladaptive schemas in the field of
disconnection and rejection.
People whose schemas are in the field of disconnection and rejection cannot establish
secure and satisfying attachments to others. Such individuals believe that their need
for stability, security, affection, love and devotion will not be met. Their main
families are usually unstable (abandonment/instability), abuse (mistrust/abuse), cold
and heartless (emotional deprivation), rejected (defectiveness/shame) or isolated
(social isolation/alienation) (Young et al., 2003).
Bidadian, Bahramizadeh and Poursharifi (2011) found that the aspects of life quality
are negatively correlated with early maladaptive schemas. Yousefi et al., (2011)
showed that the schemas of mistrust/abuse, unrelenting standards/hypercriticalness,
and emotional inhibition could highly and significantly predict divorce.
Of the other variables affecting the psychological well-being is marital conflict.
Conflicts and life dissatisfaction impose excessive medical and mental costs on
society and family members. The growth of divorce rate and its psychological and
social effects can be considered as an evidence of the necessity for development of
improvement and promotion of marital satisfaction (Ghafuri, Mashhadi and
Hassanabadi, 2013). In fact, marital conflict is a kind of marital relation in which
54
there are hostile behaviors such as insult, blaming, criticizing and physical attack, and
couples feel animosity, hatred and anger towards each other, and each believe that
"his/her spouse is an incompatible and maladjusted individual who causes his/her
suffering and pain" (Farahbakhsh, 2004). Conflict becomes the inseparable and
permanent part of marriage and marital relations and if the couples could not solve it
well, it will bring about adverse effects for family (Tafreshi et al., 2013). The
relationship problems are the key points in communication approaches to family.
These approaches analyze marital conflict as a maladaptive relationship (Rezazadeh,
2008).
Therefore, regarding the issues raised and that the marital conflicts and the early
maladaptive schemas are correlated with marital health and family well-being and
affect the marital psychological well-being, the present study seeks to answer the
question that "are the marital conflicts and the early maladaptive schemas related to
psychological well-being of couples in Tehran or not?
Research method
In terms of data collection method, the research method was descriptive and of
correlational type.
Study population, sampling method and sample size: The statistical population of
this study was the couples in Tehran. In the present study, the random sampling
method was used and thus 200 people among the couples referred to counseling
centers of Tehran were selected as the sample size.
Data collection instruments
Young's Schema Questionnaire
Young and Long (1998) Schema Questionnaire (short form) was used to measure
early maladaptive schemas for exclusion and disconnection. Cronbach's alpha
coefficients for subscales of the non-clinical population were obtained 0.5-0.82. In
Shanbadi (2016), to measure the early maladaptive schemas of exclusion and
disconnection areas, the first 25 items of the Young's early maladaptive schema
questionnaire were used. Cronbach's alpha for this study was 0.79.
Marital Conflict Questionnaire (MCQ)
Marital conflict questionnaire is a 42-item questionnaire to assess conflicts between
couples developed by Sanaie in 2000. The questionnaire measures seven dimensions
of marital conflict. Collaboration reduction, reduced sex, increased emotional
reactions, increased children’s protection, reduction of family relationship with the
partner’s relatives and friends, increased personal relationship with his/her own
relatives and separating the financial affairs from each other constitute the seven
components of marital conflict questionnaire. In a study by Khazaei (2006), the scores
of all components of marital conflict questionnaire were from 0.31 to 0.82 which had
significant correlations with the total score of marital conflicts at the significance
level of 0.01.
Psychological Well-Being Scale
This scale was made by Carol Ryff in 1989. This test has 84 items and covers 6
factors. Participants answer the questions in a 6-point scale (strongly disagree to
strongly agree). Forty-seven items are scored directly and thirty-seven items are
scored reversely the grading (the number of items has been quoted in appendix); also
in the psychological well-being questionnaire, getting higher scores mean enjoying
the psychological well-being. To measure the validity of the questionnaire and assess
its relation with measures that assess the personality traits and also were considered as
psychological well-being indices, Cronbach's alpha coefficients obtained in Ryff
(1989) for self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, independence,
55
purposefulness in life, environmental mastery, and personal development were 0.93,
0.91, 0.86, 0.87, 0.90 and 0.87 respectively. In Farshad (2015), Cronbach's alpha
coefficients for self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, independence,
environmental mastery, personal development and purposefulness in life were 0.54,
0.66, 0.65, 0.53, 0.71 and 0.59, respectively; and the total score was 0.72.
Data analysis method
After collecting the data, we used descriptive and inferential methods to analyze them
that in the descriptive statistics the mean and standard deviation were calculated and
in the inferential statistics the data were analyzed using correlation coefficient and
multiple regression method.
Results
In this study, the marital conflicts and the early maladaptive schemas and their
relations with psychological well-being have been measured, and the descriptive
findings on the research variables are given in table 1.
Table 1. The descriptive findings on the research variables
Statistical indicators
No.
Mean
SD
Marital conflicts
200
5.63
0.99
Early maladaptive schemas
200
47.10
20.19
Psychological well-being
200
181.20
13.19
Min.
4.00
21.00
46.00
Max.
9.00
101.00
312.00
According to the data in the above table, for marital conflicts the mean and standard
deviation are 5.63 and 0.99, respectively; for the early maladaptive schemas, the mean
and standard deviation are 47.10 and 20.19; and for psychological well-being, the
mean and standard deviation are 181.20 and 13.19, respectively.
Statistical analysis of research hypothesis
In this study, the hypothesis has been designed in accordance with the research
subject, which to test it various statistical tests such as Pearson correlation and
multiple linear regression analysis were used that are discussed below.
The hypothesis: There is a relationship between marital conflicts and the early
maladaptive schemas with psychological well-being in couples referred to counseling
centers.
To test this hypothesis, Pearson correlation coefficient was used that the information
is presented in the following table.
Table 2. Pearson correlation coefficient for the research hypothesis
Statistical indicators Variables
1
2
Marital conflicts
Early maladaptive schemas
Psychological well-being
0.45
-0.43
**-0.31
3
-
According to Table 2, there is a significant negative relationship between marital
conflicts and psychological well-being (P