DIVORCE PREVENTION PROGRAMME – AN INTERVENTION BASED ON QUALITATIVELY DERIVED PSYCHOLOGICAL THEMES FROM NEWLYWED DISTRESSED AND DIVORCED COUPLES.

Abstract

This study has aimed to develop a competent intervention program as a preventive measure to tackle the increasing divorce rate in the current Indian scenario. Towards this end, the study has been arranged in three phases, with specific objectives guided by specific research questions in each phase. Holding pragmatic philosophical stance, a mixed method framework has directed the entire study, precisely, “exploratory mixed design.” The first phase of the study has focused on investigating the in-depth psychological components or etiology of marital distress and divorce in the problem context. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)design, the lived marital experiences of 14 separated and 36 divorced (n=50) newlywed participants has been rigorously explored. Five superordinate themes along with 23 subordinate and 35 emergent themes have been derived in the data analysis, as reasons for marital distress and divorce in newlywed couples. The challenge of the second phase was to spin a proficient intervention program that is competent to address the identified reasons for marital distress, during the phase-one of the study. Towards this target, the theoretical framework developed by Hughes (1994, 2012 & 2014), “Framework for Developing Family Life Education Programme” is the model utilized. Following the five steps in the Hughes’s framework, the intervention program has been designed and titled “Divorce Prevention Programme” (DPP). Finally, the phase three task of the study includes experimentation over the immediate and short-term (two-month) effect of the DPP as to what extent marital satisfaction and consummate love would improve to prevent divorce. The pretest, posttest experimental, and waitlist control group design was utilized with a two months follow-up with the experimental group. The experimental group consisted of 82 participants (n=41couples) and the waitlist control group of 80 participants (n=38 couples and four married men), who voluntarily participated in one or other of these groups. Sternberg’s Triangular Love Scale and Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale were used to measure before and after treatment effect on the variables – intimacy, passion, commitment, consummate love and marital satisfaction. Mann-Whitney U-test makes the comparison of the scores of the two groups at baseline, posttest, and 2-month follow-up test. Friedman test is used for the comparison of variables across time points. The comparison of scores within each group is attained by using Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. The result indicates that the intervention program is significantly effective to improve the study variables at 0.001 levels (p < .05). The implication for a culturally competent practice and the possibilities of empowering couples to create a new and more contented marital relationship are discussed.