Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Ege Eğitim Dergisi, cilt.24, sa.1, ss.16-28, 2023 (TRDizin)
Individuals' attitudes towards their spouses and relationship, including the emotional climate of the marriage are essential for a satisfying marriage. In an unhealthy emotional climate, on the other hand, severe symptoms may emerge. One of these symptoms is the focus-on-child, where child-related issues often cause marital conflicts. The marital conflicts due to focus-on-child may also increase experiential avoidance as a coping style in the relationship. The purpose is to examine the mediating role of experiential avoidance in the relationship between the focus on child and marital satisfaction. One hundred fifty-nine married dyads participated in the study. They completed the Family Genogram Interview Form which consists of Focus on Child Subscale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, Relationship Assessment Scale, and Demographic Information Form. Findings of the Common Fate Mediation Model indicated that focus on child and experiential avoidance explained 55% of the variance in marital satisfaction. Experiential avoidance has fully mediated the relationship between focus on the child and marital satisfaction. Findings indicate maladaptive coping methods (i.e., focus-on-child) may trigger the avoidance behaviors of spouses and negatively affect their marital satisfaction. To improve marital satisfaction, we propose that spouses' psychological flexibility and self-differentiation (less focus on the child) levels should be enhanced.