نویسندگان:

محمد ابراهیم دشتی¹ ، حسین محققی² ، محمدرضا ذوقی پایدار³ ، ابوالقاسم یعقوبی⁴ ، محمدرضا روشنائی⁵ .

¹دانش‌آموخته کارشناسی ارشد روانشناسی عمومی، گروه روانشناسی، دانشکده علوم اقتصادی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان، ایران

²دانشیار، گروه روانشناسی، دانشکده علوم اقتصادی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان، ایران

³دانشیار، گروه روانشناسی، دانشکده علوم اقتصادی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان، ایران

⁴استاد، گروه روانشناسی، دانشکده علوم اقتصادی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان، ایران

⁵کاندیدای دکتری روانشناسی، گروه روانشناسی، دانشکده علوم اقتصادی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان، ایران

چکیده فارسی: مشکلات ارتباطی و عاطفی بین زوجین، از جمله گسست عاطفی، از چالش‌های اساسی در روابط زناشویی محسوب می‌شوند که می‌توانند تأثیرات منفی بر پایداری و کیفیت زندگی مشترک داشته باشند. لذا، هدف از این پژوهش، بررسی تأثیر مداخله تمایزیافتگی خود بر باج‌گیری و آزار عاطفی در زوجین دارای نشانگان گسست عاطفی بود. پژوهش حاضر نیمه-آزمایشی از نوع پیشآزمون-پسآزمون با گروه کنترل بود. جامعه آماری شامل زوجین متأهل مبتلا به گسست عاطفی مراجعه کننده به مرکز روانشناسی مهر آیین شهر ملایر در سال 1403 بود که از بین آنها، تعداد 40 نفر به روش در دسترس انتخاب و به صورت تصادفی در دو گروه 20 نفره آزمایش و کنترل جای‌گذاری شدند. ابزارهای مورد استفاده شامل مقیاس‌های تمایزیافتگی خود (DSI-R)، باج‌گیری عاطفی (EHS) و آزار عاطفی (EBS) و پروتکل مداخله تمایز یافتگی خود بود. گروه آزمایش طی 10 جلسه 90 دقیقه‌ای تحت درمان تمایز یافتگی خود قرار گرفت و سپس از هر دو گروه پس‌آزمون گرفته شد. جهت تحلیل داده‌ها از آزمون تحلیل کواریانس استفاده شد. نتایج تحلیل کوواریانس چند متغیره نشان داد تفاوت میانگین نمرات باج‌گیری عاطفی و آزار عاطفی و مولفه‌های آن بعد از مداخله تمایز یافتگی خود در مقایسه با گروه کنترل معنادار بود (01/0>P)، به‌طوری که درمان تمایز یافتگی خود باعث کاهش باج‌گیری عاطفی و آزار عاطفی و موئلفه‌های آن شد (01/0>P). یافته‌های این پژوهش مؤید اثربخشی مداخله تمایزیافتگی خود در بهبود روابط و عواطف زناشویی است. لذا، این رویکرد می‌تواند به عنوان یک راهکار مؤثر در مراکز مشاوره خانواده و برنامه‌های آموزش زوجین مورد استفاده قرار گیرد.

کلمات کلیدی: تمایزیافتگی خود ، زوجین ، باجگیری عاطفی ، آزار عاطفی ، گسست عاطفی .

The Effect of Self-Differentiation Intervention on Emotional Blackmail and Emotional Harassment of Couples with Emotional Cutoff Syndrome

English Abstract: Introduction Emotional cutoff, defined as psychological distancing and reduced emotional exchange between couples, not only weakens family dynamics but also has widespread negative impacts on individuals’ mental health and even their social functioning (Masjedi et al., 2022). Emotional blackmail is another fundamental challenge in contemporary marital relationships. Emotional blackmail is defined as a controlling behavior in interpersonal relationships where one spouse uses threats, negative emotions, or emotional deprivation to pressure the other into meeting their demands (Anusree et al., 2021). Moreover, the concept of emotional harassment can also damage marital relationships (Alipanah et al., 2021). Therefore, in the context of emotional cutoff, emotional harassment often functions as a maladaptive mechanism to maintain control or fill the void resulting from a lack of intimacy (Sharifi et al., 2024).Recent research indicates that when psychological boundaries blur and emotions become entangled, relationships become a fertile ground for the growth of destructive patterns (Rodríguez-González et al., 2023); however, through targeted intervention, couples can be taught how to maintain their psychological independence while preserving their emotional bond. One psychological concept that can help this issue is self-differentiation, a construct introduced by Bowen (1993) in Family Systems Theory, which refers to an individual’s ability to maintain a balance between emotional connectedness with others and psychological autonomy. Given that emotional cutoff is one of the problems facing modern families and has become a serious issue in Iran (Arbabzadeh et al., 2022), identifying factors and effective approaches to improve these relationships and designing efficient psychological interventions is of great importance. Self-differentiation, as a psychological construct, has significant potential in explaining and moderating marital problems since it attends to both individuality and healthy connection. Therefore, by taking into account both family psychology theories and practical interventions, this study sought to investigate the effect of a self-differentiation-based intervention on emotional blackmail and emotional harassment in couples with emotional cutoff. Method This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention using a quasi-experimental method with a pretest-posttest and control group design. The statistical population consisted of couples with emotional cutoff referred to a psychology center in Malayer. From among them, 40 individuals were selected using available sampling method based on specific inclusion criteria (e.g., having at least three years of marriage and a high score on Emotional Cutoff scale). They were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (20 individuals in each group). After obtaining informed consent and administering the pretest, the experimental group underwent a self-differentiation-based intervention consisting of ten 90-minute sessions, while the control group received no intervention. At the end, a posttest was administered to both groups. Research data were collected using standardized questionnaires, including the Emotional Cutoff subscale of the Differentiation of Self Inventory (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998), the Emotional Blackmail Scale (Karnani, 2018), and the Emotional Harassment Scale (Brahimi, 2008). The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS-26 software. Findings The results of data analysis showed that the self-differentiation-based intervention had a significant effect on reducing emotional blackmail and emotional harassment in couples with emotional cutoff. After controlling for the pretest effects, analysis of covariance showed a significant decrease in the posttest scores of the experimental group compared to the control group. The intervention accounted for 25% of the variance in reducing emotional blackmail and 59% of the variance in reducing overall emotional harassment.Furthermore, the intervention had a significant effect on all components of emotional harassment, including verbal-critical harassment, social restriction, domination, and neglect-withdrawal, accounting for 46%, 27%, 32%, and 24% of the variance in reducing these components, respectively. These findings indicate the effectiveness of this intervention in improving marital relationships. Conclusion This study was conducted to investigate the effect of a self-differentiation-based intervention on reducing emotional blackmail and emotional harassment in couples with emotional cutoff. The findings showed that the intervention significantly reduced both variables, with its effect on reducing emotional harassment (accounting for 59% of the variance) being considerably stronger than that on reducing emotional blackmail (accounting for 25% of the variance). This difference is likely due to the more deep-rooted and complex nature of emotional harassment. Overall, the results are consistent with most previous studies and confirm the effectiveness of this intervention in breaking the vicious cycle of harmful behaviors by strengthening emotional autonomy, self-regulation, and establishing healthy communication boundaries.To summarize, this intervention is recommended as an effective protocol to be used in family counseling centers. Limitations of the study included the limited number of participants who were from one city and the lack of a follow-up phase to assess the consistency of the effects. It is suggested that future research employ longitudinal designs, investigate the role of mediating variables such as attachment style, and replicate the study in different cultures to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this intervention. Acknowledgments The researchers express their gratitude to all participants in this study who made conducting this research possible by dedicating their time and providing sincere cooperation. Conflict of interest According to the authors, there is no conflict of interest in this article.