Applied Psychology

Applied Psychology

The Effectiveness of the Adlerian-Based Premarital Education on Relationship Maintenance Strategies and Tolerance in Engaged Couples

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Amirhossein Sobhaninia 1
Zabihollah Abbaspour 2
Sarah Kiyan Ersi 3
1 M.A. in Family Counseling, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz
2 Associate Professor, Department of Counseling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
3 M.A. in Family Counseling, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
10.48308/apsy.2025.240581.1858
Abstract
Aim: This study evaluated the effectiveness of an Adlerian-based premarital education program on relationship maintenance strategies and tolerance among engaged couples in Yasuj.
 
Method: A quasi-experimental design with pretest, posttest, follow-up, and a control group was employed. The population comprised 47 engaged couples attending the Shahid Ashrafi Health Center in 2024. Sixty individuals were selected via purposive sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (30 each). Participants completed the Relationship Maintenance Strategies Scale and the Tolerance Scale at three stages. The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of Adlerian-based premarital education. Data were analyzed using mixed repeated-measures ANOVA in SPSS-26.
 
Results: The intervention significantly improved relationship maintenance strategies (F = 41.66, p < 0.001) and tolerance (F = 29.27, p < 0.001) in the experimental group relative to controls from pretest through follow-up. Improvements were sustained at follow-up.
 
Conclusion: Adlerian-based premarital education effectively strengthens relational skills and tolerance in engaged couples. This preventive program may reduce relational instability and is recommended for implementation in premarital counseling centers.
Keywords
Adlerian-Based Premarital Education
Engaged Couples
Relationship Maintenance Strategies
Tolerance
Subjects
Awada, G. M., Diab, H. B., & Faour, K. H. (2020). Effect of GI and Glogster on improving the intercultural communication skills in higher education. In Multicultural Instructional Design: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, 30(3), 576-604. [link]
Annajah, Z., & Eren, S. (2024). The Concept of tolerance in marriage and family relations according to islam. el-furqania: Jurnal Ushuluddin Dan Ilmu-Ilmu Keislaman, 10(02). [link]
Clyde, T. L., Wikle, J. S., Hawkins, A. J., & James, S. L. (2020). The effects of premarital education promotion policies on US divorce rates. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26(1), 105. [link] 
Chonody, J. M., & Gabb, J. (2019). Understanding the role of relationship maintenance in enduring couple partnerships in later adulthood. Marriage & Family Review, 55(3), 216-238.‏ [link]
Cabılar, B. Ö., & Yılmaz, A. E. (2022). Divorce and post-divorce adjustment: Definitions, models and assessment of adjustment. Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar, 14(1), 1-11.‏ [link]
Canary, D. J., & Stafford, L. (1992). Relational maintenance strategies and equity in marriage. Communication Monographs, 59(3), 243-267. [link]
David, P. (2015). Wedding the Gottman and Johnson approaches into an integrated model of couple therapy. The Family Journal, 23(4), 336-345.‏ [link]
‏Durante, K. A., Phillips Meertins, J. R., & Tadros, E. (2024). Institutional relational maintenance barriers and perceptions of relationship quality among women with incarcerated partners. Crime & Delinquency, 70(3), 788-811. [link]
Ghezelseflo, M., & Rostami, M. (2018). Examining the effects of the SYMBIS pre-marriage training on engaged couples' communication beliefs. Journal of Family Psychology, 5(1), 45-56.‏ [link] 
Harris, V. W., Park, C., Visconti, B., Varona, C. D., Nesbit, T., & Longley, C. (2024). Before You Tie the Knot: Impacts, Outcomes, and Lessons Learned from a Federally-Funded Premarital Education Case Study. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 23(4), 333-365.‏ [link]
hosseinzadeh, Z., Ghorban Shirodi, S., Khalatbari, J. and Rahmani, M. A. (2020). The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy and Couple Therapy with Reality Therapy Approach on Couple’s Functional Flexibility and Distress Tolerance. Applied Psychology, 14(2), 122-101. [link] (In Persian)
Hagh-shenas, H. (2011). Five-factor design of personality traits (NEO-PI-R and NEO-FFI Interpretative Guide and Norms. Shiraz. Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Publications. [link] (In Persian)
Joiner, R. J., Bradbury, T. N., Lavner, J. A., Meltzer, A. L., McNulty, J. K., Neff, L. A., & Karney, B. R. (2023). Are changes in marital satisfaction sustained and steady, or sporadic and dramatic? American Psychologist. Advance online publication. [link]
Kravdal, Ø., Wörn, J., & Reme, B. A. (2023). Mental health benefits of cohabitation and marriage: A longitudinal analysis of Norwegian register data. Population Studies, 77(1), 91-110. [link]
Khojasteh Mehr, R., Roshan Ravan, N., & Abbaspour, Z. (2016).[Evaluation of psychometric properties of the Self Dyadic Perspective-Taking (SDPT) and Other Dyadic Perspective-Taking (ODPT) scales. Journal of Family Psychology, 1(3), 81-92. [link] (In Persian)
Karlsen, A. S., Futris, T. G., & Richardson, E. W. (2020). The dyadic effects of relationship uncertainty on relationship maintenance and damaging behaviors. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 19(4), 347-367. [link]
Khojasteh Mehr, R., Rezaei, F., & Soudani, M. (2015). Developing and validation of a scale for assessing of religious marital style. Biquarterly Journal of Studies in Islam & Psychology, 17(9), 7- 25. [link] (In Persian)
Khojasteh Mehr, R., Koraei, A., & Rajabi, Gh. (2010). A study of a proposed model for some precedents and outcomes of forgiveness in marriage. Quarterly Journal of Psychological Studies. 1(6), 135-162. [link] (In Persian)
Khojasteh Mehr, R., Bagi, M. D., & Abbaspour, Z. (2020). Development and Validation of a Tolerance Scale in Spouses’ Relations. Contemporary Psychology, 15(1), 13-27.‏ [link] (In Persian)
Lamarche, V. M., & Rolison, J. J. (2025). Can I tolerate that kind of behaviour? Self‐esteem, expected benefits, risk perceptions and risk tolerance in romantic relationships. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64(2), e12860. [link]‏
Moeti, B., Koloi-Keaikitse, S., & Mokgolodi, H. L. (2017). Married women’s lived experiences on the value of traditional premarital counseling “Go Laya” on marital stability in Botswana. The Family Journal, 25(3), 247-256. [link]‏
‏Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996). The self-fulfilling nature of positive illusions in romantic relationships: love is not blind, but prescient. Journal of personality and social psychology, 71(6), 1155- 1380. [link]‏
Majidi, Elham., Asgari Dehghani, Hengameh., Dehghani, Marzieh., and Samadi, Mohammad. (1402). Investigating the effect of premarital education based on the SYMBIS model on communication skills and conflict resolution skills of candidates. Applied Family Therapy, 4(5), 492-505. [link] (In Persian)
Noroozi, S., Rezakhani, S. and Vakili, P. (2019). The causal relationship between time perspective and the marital instability based on the mediator role of communication patterns in married women and men. Applied Psychology, 13(3), 431-451. [link]  (In Persian)
Poley, J. M. (2011). A pre-marriage proposal: Getting ready for marriage, an Adlerian design. The Degree of Master of Arts in Adlerian Counseling and Psychotherapy. [link]
Pett, R. C., & Krawietz, C. E. (2025). A Latent Profile Analysis of Relational Maintenance Behaviors in Romantic Relationships. Personal Relationships, 32(1), e12588. [link]‏
Park, J., & Lee, J. (2025). Videoconferencing Delivery of the Seoul Premarital Education Program During COVID-19: A Quasi-experimental Study Using Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting. Prevention Science,13(3), 1-13. [link]‏
Reis, H. T., Lee, K. Y., O’Keefe, S. D., & Clark, M. S. (2018). Perceived partner responsiveness promotes intellectual humility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 79, 21–33. [link]
Rose, A., Anderson, S., Miller, R., Marks, L., Hatch, T., & Card, N. (2018). Longitudinal test of forgiveness and perceived forgiveness as mediators between religiosity and marital satisfaction in long-term marital relationships. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 46(4), 356-374. [link]
Rahbarian Yazdi, Behnaz, Farhoudi, Farzad, and Amiri, Mohsen. (1402). The effectiveness of pre-marital education with Adlerian approach on preparation for marriage among girls on the verge of marriage. New Advances in Behavioral Sciences, 8 (56), 330-318. [link] (In Persian)
Rahbarian Yazdi, Behnaz., and Sahaghi, Karim. (2018). The effectiveness of pre-marital education with Adlerian approach on attitude towards marriage among girls on the verge of marriage. Quarterly Journal of New Strategies in Educational Sciences, 1(1), 23-43. [link] (In Persian)
Rajabi, G., Gheisary, S. G., Amanelahi, A., & Sodani, M. (2021). The Effectiveness of the Adlerian-Based Premarital Education Program on Female Students’ Constraining Beliefs regarding Mate Selection. Journal of Applied Psychological Research, 11(4), 1-22. [link]
Raley, R. K., & Sweeney, M. M. (2020). Divorce, repartnering, and stepfamilies: A decade in review. Journal of marriage and family, 82(1), 81-99. [link]‏
Sobhaninia, S. and Rajabi, G. (2023). The Effect of Premarital Education based on Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge Program on Relationship Maintenance Strategies and Emotional Regulation. Family Counseling and Psychotherapy, 13(1), 67-98. [link] (In Persian)
Stafford, L., Dainton, M., & Haas, S. (2000). Measuring routine and strategic relational maintenance: Scale revision, sex versus gender roles, and the prediction of relational characteristics. Communications Monographs, 67(3), 306-323. [link]
Smallen, D., Eller, J., Rholes, W. S., & Simpson, J. A. (2022). Perceptions of partner responsiveness across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 36(4), 618.‏ [link]
Shirzadfar, A., Abbasi, G., & Hasanzadeh, R. (2021). Effectiveness of Adlerian-based Educational Program on Decision Making Problems of Spouse Selection and Attitude Toward Marriage and Divorce among Children of Divorced Parents. Razavi International Journal of Medicine, 9(4), 38-45.‏ [link]
Seifi Ghozlu, S. J., Sadri Damirchi, E., Rezaei Sharif, A., & Sheykholeslami, A. (2023). Investigating Psychological-Marital Problems of Women who Filed for a Divorce and Examining the Effectiveness of AffectiveReconstructive Therapy on It. Applied Psychology, 17(2), 217-243. [link] (In Persian)
Tolan, Ö. Ç., & Kılıç, M. (2021). Prediction of Marital Adjustment in the Context of Personality Traits, Relationship Beliefs and Conflict Resolution Styles (Sample of Diyarbakır). OPUS International Journal of Society Researches, 18(40), 2056-2084. [link]‏
Thompson, E. (2001). Empathy and consciousness. Journal of consciousness studies, 8(5-6), 1-32. [link]
Özdemir, P. (2023). How Do You Describe Your Spouse’s Personality? Associations Between Relationship Satisfaction and Accuracy and Bias in Married Couples. International Journal of Eurasian Education and Culture, 8(23), 2500-2522. [link]
Ogolsky, B. G., Monk, J. K., Rice, T. M., Theisen, J. C., & Maniotes, C. R. (2017). Relationship maintenance: A review of research on romantic relationships. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 9(3), 275-306.‏ [link]
Ogolsky, B. G., & Stafford, L. (2023). A systematic review of relationship maintenance: Reflecting back and looking to the future. Personal Relationships, 30(1), 19-43. [link]
Yavuzer, Y., & Doğanülkü, H. A. (2024). Development of a systemic premarital counselling programme and evaluating its impact on young adults' couple relationships: A pilot study. Current Psychology, 43(6), 5179-5192.‏ [link]
Vali Sheikhzahed, E. (2024). Predicting Marital Satisfaction based on Forgiveness and Tolerance in Spouses' Relationships. Journal of Modern Psychology, 4(1), 24-30. [link]
Wallerstein, J. (2019). The good marriage: How and why love lasts. Plunkett Lake Press. [link]‏