Effect of Life Skills Counseling on Marital Satisfaction of Pregnant Women Referring to Health Clinics in Asadabad, Hamadan, Iran

• Main Authors: Batoul Khodakarami, Roya Asadi, Seyedeh Zahra Masoumi, Alireza Soltanian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited 2018-06-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
• Subjects: interpersonal skills; marriage; vocational guidance
• Online Access: https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/11676/31699_CE[Ra]_F(Sh)_PF1(AJ_SL)_PN(SL).pdf
• ISSN: 2249-782X; 0973-709X

Introduction: Marital satisfaction is one of the factors related to the health of pregnant women and their fetuses. Life skills counseling is a consultation on abilities for adaptive and positive behavior enabling humans to effectively deal with the demands and challenges of life. Aim: To examine the effects of life skills counseling on marital satisfaction of pregnant women in Asadabad town, Iran. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted with a pre-test and post-test design. The participants included 64 pregnant women selected via simple random sampling method. The participants were randomly assigned to two group, experimental and control groups (each with 32 members). The required data were collected through a questionnaire covering demographic characteristics of the participants and the ENRICH Inventory. The pregnant women completed both questionnaires at the pre-test stage. Then, members of the experimental group received eight sessions of life skills training, while members of the control group received no intervention. Members of both groups completed the ENRICH Inventory again immediately after the intervention and again four weeks later. Using the SPSS-16 software, the collected data were analysed through independent t-test and least significant difference test. Results: Comparison of pre-test scores to post-test scores indicated that life skills training could positively affect marital satisfaction. Results showed that pregnant women in the experimental group obtained higher scores as a result of the intervention, and the difference between their pre-test scores and their post-test scores was statistically significant. Moreover, the difference between the pre and post-test scores for both experimental and control groups was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Life skills counseling positively affects marital satisfaction of people, especially pregnant women.