The study of Lived Experienced of Couples in Unsuccessful Marriages: A Phenomenological Research

The present study aims to explore the lived experiences of couples in unsuccessful marriages using a qualitative approach and a phenomenological method. The research participants consisted of all couples who visited counseling centers in Isfahan in 2022 due to marital conflicts and divorce. From this group, 12 individuals were purposefully selected as the sample. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews, and the data analysis followed the Colaizzi method. To ensure the reliability of the findings, Lincoln and Guba's four criteria—confirmability, credibility, dependability, and transferability—were employed. The data analysis resulted in 33 initial codes for premarriage factors and 28 initial codes for postmarriage factors. Furthermore, 17 central themes for premarriage and 11 central themes for postmarriage were identified, along with 7 main themes for premarriage criteria and 6 main themes for postmarriage criteria. The pre-marriage themes included self-awareness (lack of self-awareness), differentiation (lack of differentiation), cognition, lack of insight, emotional and affective dimension, sense of worthiness, and physical attractiveness. The post-marriage themes comprised personality type, economic security, intimacy, physical attractiveness, clear boundaries, and mental and cognitive maturity.