Citation

Cheraghi M, Mazaheri MA, Motabi F, Panaghi L, Sadeghi MS. Fam. Process 2018; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Family Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Family Process Institute, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/famp.12389

PMID

30155892

Abstract

In-laws can play a significant role in the success or failure of marriages around the world. In the Middle East, recent quantitative research indicates that having trouble with in-laws is a major predictor of divorce in Iran. To explore this further, we undertook a qualitative (grounded theory) analysis of in-depth interviews with 17 Iranian daughters-in-law, five sons-in-law, three mothers-in-law, three fathers-in-law, and three expert family clinicians. Emergent concepts, themes, and coding categories were consistent with a Family Triad Model (FTM) of successful marital and in-law relationships, wherein each spouse must (a) form we-ness with their partner, (b) establish flexible boundaries between themselves and their families of origin, and (c) join their in-laws. A higher-order core category suggested that optimal couple and family functioning depends on the coherence or balance of these functions across the triadic role components of spouse, child-in-law, and family-in-law (or family-of-origin). In the changing cultural context of Iran, where blood relations have traditionally held primacy over marital relations, such triadic coherence appears crucial to marital success, at least from the perspective of many women. Our FTM results also highlight the importance of taking in-laws into account when planning educational, preventative, or clinical interventions.

© 2018 Family Process Institute.

Language: en

Keywords

Family Triad Model; Family of Origin; In-Law Relations; Iranian Families; Marital Success; Modelo triádico familiar; We-ness; familia de origen; familias iraníes; nostredad; parentesco político; éxito conyugal; 伊朗家庭; 原生家庭; 姻亲关系; 婚姻成功; 家庭组合模型; 我们意识