Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate Iranian women’s experiences of the consequences of self-compassion as an intrapersonal source in marital relationships.The descriptive-interpretive qualitative method was adopted in this study. In the first step, we used the self-compassion scale to select a sample of 15 women (Mean Age = 47.66 years, SD = 2.46 years). In the second step, semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings of this study suggested that self-compassion can bring cognitive, emotional, and behavioral resources to women in a marital relationship. Based on thematic analysis, the experiences of compassionate women in marital relationships were classified into three main themes and nine sub-themes: favorable behaviors (forgiveness, respect, and empathy), cognitive resources (optimism, cognitive emotion regulation, acceptance of own and partner imperfections), and positive feelings and emotions (happiness, safeness, satisfaction). Results imply that self-compassion may involve a set of positive intrapersonal self-resources containing a plethora of cognitive, affective, and behavioral benefits that may help achieve, maintain, and consolidate interpersonal relationships such as marital relationships.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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HM conceived the study, coordinated the study, conducted the interviews and collected the data, assisted with the design and completion of thematic analyses, and drafted the manuscript, as well as revising the manuscript according to the reviewers’ comments. YS assisted with the coordination of the study, the design of the analysis, the interpretation of the findings, and the revision of the manuscript. HM, OE, and MFZ assisted with the coordination of the study, the design of the analysis, the inter-rating coding, and all were involved with the content analysis. HM and YS drafted this manuscript, which was supplemented by all the other authors. MGH helped with manuscript draft and revision. BKH contributed to the supervision of the study as well as writing part of the paper and critically reviewing the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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All procedures performed in study were approved by The Ethics Committee of Isfahan University, Iran (project ref. 2022/706), and all the participants provided signed informed consent at the time of participation. This study was carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.
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Matin, H., Savari, Y., Etemadi, O. et al. Iranian women’s experiences of the consequences of self-compassion as an intrapersonal source in marital relationships: a qualitative study. Curr Psychol 43, 18404–18414 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05674-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05674-6