Extended Abstract

Background and purpose

Despite all attempts to intervene in divorce, many children experience parents' divorce (Hong, 2020). Divorce is described as something more than the parents' physical separation, which is often characterized by a series of prolonged conflicts before any separation (Potter, 2010). Children reflect on marriage and entering into a long-term relationship by observing their parents' relationship quality in childhood and after experiencing their first romantic relationship (Collardeau and Ehrenberg, 2016). Attitude towards marriage refers to a person's general beliefs and feelings about romantic relationships (Reggio and Wieser, 2008). A review of existing literature shows that the experience of conflict, followed by parents' divorce or separation in the family, plays an essential role in children's attitudes toward future romantic relationships and interpersonal relationships with others (Trotter, 2010). Past experiences, such as parental conflicts or divorce, affect young people's attitudes toward themselves and others, which can ultimately influence the way they behave in their personal relationships (Cui, Fincham, & Durtschi, 2011). Schaan, Schultz, Schächinger, and Vögele (2019) showed that children of divorce experience more disorders such as depression, childhood trauma, avoidant attachment, anxious attachment, and acute stress than others. In spite of acknowledging the importance of premarital education programs for adult children of divorce, there have been limited plans for developing an educational program to improve the children of divorce' attitude toward marriage and divorce. So, the importance of conducting this research is felt more than ever. Therefore, the present study seeks to design and propose a premarital education program for those who have experienced parental divorce, and in a sense, it aims to answer the question of whether this premarital educational program has an effect on adult children of divorce' attitudes toward divorce?

Method

This study used a single-case experimental design (SCED), which is also called a single-subject experiment and is a kind of clinical trial. This design has different types, including AB, ABAB, Multiple Baselines, and Changing Criterion Designs (Rizvi and Nock, 2008). In this study, a multiple baseline design was used. The study population was all Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz students in the 2020-2019 academic year whose parents divorced at least one year ago. Among them, three people who met the inclusion criteria were selected through purposive sampling. The premarital education program for children of divorce has been developed based on current authors' research findings. In this study, the content validity ratio (CVR) achieved for all goals in the educational protocol between 0.91 to 1. and the content validity index (CVI) for all goals in the educational package was between 0.9 to 1. The premarital education program was conducted in 10 sessions. The subjects responded to the Bratton-Rosen Marriage Attitude Scale (MAS) and the Kinnair and Gerrard Divorce Attitude Scale (ADS) in three baseline phases and four educational intervention phases. Data were analyzed by visual analysis, reliable change index (RCI), and improvement percentage formula.

Results

Table 1.

Descriptive statistics of subjects in the Marriage Attitude Scale (MAS) the Divorce Attitude Scale (ADS)

As can be seen in Table 1, the reliable change index for all three subjects in the Marriage Attitude Scale were 2.79, 1.99 and 1.98, respectively, and since these three values ​​were greater than Z=1.96, The results showed that subjects' changes into a positive attitude towards marriage are clinically significant. All three subjects showed a significant improvement (29.1%, 10.4%, and 12%) in Marriage Attitude Scale.  Thus, the premarital education program for children of divorce caused an increase in the positive attitude towards marriage. In addition, the subjects' changes in the attitude towards divorce were not significant, and the premarital education program for the children of divorce did not cause a significant change in the attitude towards divorce.

Conclusion

One of the unique features of this program is analyzing the damage associated with parent relationships and re-evaluating it. This program helps children of divorce analyze the traumatic events of parental conflicts, view the disagreement and tensions within parental relationships from different aspects, and challenge their dysfunctional beliefs about marriage. Expressing negative emotions related to the past helps children in divorce form a more constructive narrative about their parents. Children of divorce need to accept their parents as human beings and classify their experiences and interactions as hurtful and non- hurtful behaviors.The purpose of this program was to make the children of divorce believe that their future is in their own control and not predetermined. One of the divorced children of divorce' significant experiences was their response to accepting the view that their future would not be affected by their parents' past. The strong emphasis of this program on differentiation and recognition of psychological needs can set the stage for healthier interactions in intimate relationships. Children of divorce realize the importance of essential communication elements such as forgiveness, sacrifice, problem-solving, compromise in the stability and consolidation of marriage. As a synthesized program based on evidence base in Iran and other countries, this program showed that it could be effective for children of divorce. Cultural considerations related to divorce have been considered in designing this program, and the high satisfaction of the participants in this study at the end of the educational program is a qualitative indicator of its adjustment-oriented content.

Ethical considerations

Compliance with the research ethics

This study has the ethical code EE / 98.24.3.57619 / scu.ac.ir and is derived from a master's dissertation in family counseling at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz and has been done with the research grant of this university. The voluntary participation in the study was clarified for participants, and they were assured of confidentiality, which all information would remain confidential. Other issues related to research ethics, such as observance of ethical values ​​in data collection, bias-free data analysis, and accuracy in citations, have also been considered. Before conducting the study, the objectives, procedures, and the individuals' role in the research were informed to the participants.

Authors' participation: This article is derived from a master's dissertation in family counseling at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. The first author was responsible for sampling, preparing instruments, implementing the educational program, and data analysis. The second author was responsible for collecting and writing the paper and organizing the educational protocol, and the third author participated in preparing the educational protocol, data analysis, and writing the paper.

Funding: This research has been done with the research grant of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.

Conflict of interest: This research does not directly or indirectly conflict with interests.

Acknowledgments: All participants verbally expressed their consent to participate in the research and answer the questionnaires. The authors appreciate all the participants in this study.