Journal of counseling research

Psychological Predictors of Childbearing Intention in Couples: A Systematic Review

Davud Nodehi

Aim: Childbearing is a key component of demographic change and an important element of sustainable development, particularly in countries experiencing below-replacement fertility. In Iran, declining fertility has led to the adoption of new policies aimed at supporting population growth. Accordingly, this study aimed to systematically identify and categorize the psychological predictors associated with childbearing intention based on studies conducted over the past decade. ▌Methods: This systematic review included Persian- and English-language studies published between 2016 and 2026 on psychological predictors of childbearing intention. PubMed, Scopus, SID, and Magiran were systematically searched using combinations of keywords related to childbearing intention and psychological factors. Quantitative and qualitative studies relevant to psychological factors associated with childbearing were considered eligible. The search, screening, and final selection of studies were conducted independently by two reviewers. Of 402 initially identified records, 38 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final review. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. ▌Findings: The 38 included studies yielded two broad categories and 12 subcategories of psychological factors associated with childbearing intention. Factors associated with increased childbearing intention included positive attitudes and norms toward parenthood, perceived self-efficacy, marital satisfaction and emotional support, facilitating personality characteristics, identity-related motives, and positive emotions. Factors associated with decreased childbearing intention included negative attitudes and emotions, future and parenting anxiety, dysfunctional beliefs, individualistic orientations, psychological uncertainty, inhibiting personality characteristics, and negative schemas. Overall, factors associated with reduced childbearing intention appeared more prominent across the reviewed studies. ▌Conclusions: Psychological factors play an important role in couples’ childbearing intentions. Positive attitudes toward parenthood, self-efficacy, marital satisfaction, and emotional support may facilitate childbearing intention, whereas future anxiety, dysfunctional beliefs, negative emotions, and individualistic orientations may inhibit it. These findings underscore the importance of addressing cognitive and emotional factors alongside socioeconomic considerations. Psychological and educational interventions aimed at reducing future anxiety and dysfunctional beliefs while strengthening self-efficacy and positive attitudes toward childbearing may be useful in informing counseling programs and evidence-based population policies

Evaluation of the Marital Burnout Model Based on Attachment Styles Considering the Mediating Role of Emotional Literacy in Divorce-Seeking Women

Ebrahim Namani

Aim: The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of emotional literacy in the relationship between attachment styles and marital burnout among women applying for divorce. ▌Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on all divorce-seeking women who referred to counseling clinics in Sabzevar during the winter of 2024. A total of 205 women were selected through convenience sampling. The research instruments included the Pines Marital Burnout Questionnaire (CBM) (1996), the Emotional Literacy Subscale from the Iranian Family Psychological Functioning Scale (IFPFS) by Kimiaee et al. (2012), and the Hazan and Shaver Attachment Styles Questionnaire (ASQ) (1987). Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with Smart PLS software. ▌Finding: Findings indicated that secure attachment style had a direct and negative effect on marital burnout (p-value < 0.05), while avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles had no direct impact (p-value > 0.05). Furthermore, emotional literacy significantly mediated the relationship between secure and ambivalent attachment styles and marital burnout (p-value < 0.05), but this mediating role was not confirmed for avoidant attachment style (p-value > 0.05). ▌Conclusion: The results demonstrated that secure and ambivalent attachment styles can contribute to reducing marital burnout through enhancing emotional literacy, whereas the avoidant attachment style does not play such a role. Accordingly, emphasizing the education and strengthening of emotional literacy in couple therapy interventions and preventive programs may serve as an effective strategy for reducing marital burnout

investigate the mediating role of communication skills in the relationship between phubbing and romantic relationships among couples

arefeh kiani

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of communication skills in the relationship between phubbing and romantic relationships among couples in Neka, Iran. ▌Method: This descriptive-correlational study employed structural equation modeling. The study population consisted of couples residing in Neka, from whom 150 individuals (75 couples) were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using Barton’s Communication Skills Questionnaire (1998), Chotpitayasunondh and Douglas’s Phubbing Questionnaire (2018), and the Romantic Relationships Questionnaire developed by Attridge et al. (1998). Data were analyzed using SPSS, and the measurement and structural models were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS. ▌Findings: The proposed model demonstrated an acceptable fit. Phubbing had a significant negative effect on communication skills (β 0.62, p < .01) and romantic relationships (β= -0.57, p < .01), whereas communication skills had a significant positive effect on romantic relationships (β = 0.52, p < .01). In addition, communication skills significantly mediated the relationship between phubbing and romantic relationships, with an indirect effect of −0.21 (p < .01). ▌Conclusion: Higher levels of phubbing were associated with poorer communication skills and weaker romantic relationships among couples, whereas stronger communication skills were associated with better romantic relationships. Communication skills also mediated the relationship between phubbing and romantic relationships. These findings highlight the relevance of both phubbing and communication skills to couples’ romantic relationships and support the potential value of interventions aimed at promoting healthier smartphone use and strengthening couples’ communication skills

The Cycle of Hope and Despair: Fluctuating Experiences of Suicidal Ideation among University Students during a Semester of Escalating Iran-U.S. Tensions

marieh abdolghaderi

Aim: This study aimed to explore the cycle of hope and hopelessness and the fluctuating experiences of suicidal ideation among university students over the course of an academic semester amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States. Specifically, it sought to understand the dynamic and context-dependent nature of suicidal ideation in relation to individual stressors, university-related factors, and broader sociopolitical crises. ▌Methods: This qualitative study employed a descriptive phenomenological approach. Eleven university students who had experienced fluctuations in suicidal ideation during an academic semester coinciding with escalating Iran–U.S. tensions were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step phenomenological method. The analysis focused on identifying the fundamental structure of participants’ lived experiences rather than achieving statistical generalization. ▌Findings: Seven major themes emerged from the analysis: erosion of the sense of security and stability; accumulation and layering of psychological distress; cyclical fluctuations between hope and hopelessness; suicidal ideation as a language of helplessness and a desire for relief; political crisis as an amplifier and qualitative modifier of distress; protective factors and the reconstruction of hope; and existential reappraisal and meaning-making. The findings indicated that suicidal ideation was not experienced as a static phenomenon, but rather as a fluctuating and cyclical experience shaped by the interaction of individual stressors, academic pressures, and broader sociopolitical threats. ▌Conclusions: Suicidal ideation among university students may fluctuate substantially over time and should be understood within the broader context in which students live and study. The findings highlight the need for university-based screening and intervention systems to move beyond one-time, cross-sectional assessments toward temporally informed, context-sensitive, and multilevel approaches. Clinical interventions should also extend beyond symptom-based assessment by attending to experiences of entrapment, monitoring fluctuations in risk over time, and facilitating the reconstruction of meaning and sources of hope among university students.

Prediction of suicidal ideation based on self-worth, fear of intimacy and covert relational aggression in women with marital infidelity experience

tahereh nouri

Aim: This study aimed to predict suicidal ideation based on self-worth, fear of intimacy, and covert relational aggression among women who had experienced marital infidelity. ▌Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among married women who had experienced marital infidelity by their spouses and had attended counseling and psychotherapy centers in Tehran in 2023–2024. Using purposive sampling, 150 women were selected. Data were collected using a demographic information checklist, the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (Beck et al., 1979), the Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (Crocker et al., 2003), the Fear of Intimacy Scale (Descutner & Thelen, 1991), and the Covert Relational Aggression Scale (Nelson & Carroll, 2006). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis in SPSS version 27. ▌Findings: Self-worth was significantly and negatively correlated with suicidal ideation (r = −0.47, p < .005), whereas fear of intimacy (r = 0.21, p < .008) and covert relational aggression (r = 0.40, p < .002) were significantly and positively correlated with suicidal ideation. Together, self-worth, fear of intimacy, and covert relational aggression explained 38% of the variance in suicidal ideation (R² = .38, p < .001). Emotional withdrawal, a dimension of covert relational aggression, had the strongest predictive contribution (β = .42), whereas piety/virtue, a dimension of self-worth (β = −.09), and social sabotage, a dimension of covert relational aggression (β = .09), had the weakest predictive contributions. ▌Conclusion: Self-worth, fear of intimacy, and covert relational aggression were significantly associated with suicidal ideation among women who had experienced marital infidelity. The findings highlight the potential importance of interventions aimed at strengthening self-worth and marital communication skills and reducing covert relational aggression, particularly emotional withdrawal, in addressing psychological and emotional vulnerability in this population.

Effectiveness of Communication Skills Training based on the Sahmgozari approach in Enhancing Problem-Solving Ability and Family Intimacy among Married Female Employees

Zahra Amanollahi

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of communication skills training based on the Sahmgozari approach in improving problem-solving skills and family intimacy. ▌Methods: This applied study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a control group. The study population consisted of married employees in Tehran. The sample comprised 40 employees of the Tehran Water Organization who were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (20 participants in each group). The research instruments were the Family Intimacy Questionnaire developed by Walker and Thompson, the Problem-Solving Inventory developed by Heppner and Petersen, and the Sahmgozari Lifestyle Questionnaire developed by Esmaeili et al. The experimental group participated in a ten-session Sahmgozari-based communication skills training program, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS version 27. ▌Findings: After controlling for pretest scores, Sahmgozari-based communication skills training significantly improved problem-solving skills and family intimacy in the experimental group compared with the control group (p < .001). The effect size also indicated a strong intervention effect. ▌Conclusion: The findings suggest that the Sahmgozari approach, beyond merely teaching communication techniques, can serve as an effective intervention for improving problem-solving skills and family intimacy by redefining individuals’ roles in relationships and strengthening responsibility and agency.

Children in the Shadow of War: Exploring the Consequences of War and Coping Strategies from Parents’ Lived Experiences with descriptive phenomenological approach

Maryam Solgi

Aim: War conditions may affect young children's experiences across emotional, cognitive, and behavioral domains. Despite the importance of this issue, direct research on parents' experiences of emotional and behavioral changes in children under six years of age during wartime remains limited. The present study aimed to understand parents' lived experiences of the emotional and behavioral states of children under six years of age in the context of war-related tension and crisis and to identify the dimensions of this experience. ▌Methods: This study was conducted using a descriptive phenomenological approach. Participants were 16 parents of children under six years of age who had experienced the war-related crisis and were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step phenomenological analysis method. ▌Findings: Analysis of parents' lived experiences indicated that young children's experiences of war-related tension and crisis were multidimensional and were reflected in emotional, cognitive, and behavioral domains. The core theme was identified as “Consequences and the Process of Adaptation to War Crisis in Children.” This core theme comprised seven main themes: “the context in which the child's experience is formed,” “emotional arousal and insecurity,” “the child's efforts to seek security,” “the reflection of war in children's cognition and meaning-making,” “the reflection of war in children's behavior and play,” “the influence of parents' responses on the child's experience,” and “adaptation and return to normalcy.” Overall, one core theme, 6 main themes, and 17 subthemes were identified. ▌Conclusions: The findings indicate that young children's experience of war crisis is a multidimensional proc ess that begins with their exposure to the consequences of war and is manifested through fear and worry, sensitivity to sounds, feelings of danger and threat, increased need for parental presence, questions about war and death, changes in sleep and daily activities, and changes in play. Parents' responses and environmental conditions also appear to shape children's experiences of the crisis. As stressful conditions decrease, signs of gradually reduced fear and a return toward normal routines may emerge; however, some effects of the crisis may persist in certain children's experiences.

The effectiveness of self-Awareness of Vocational Interests Base on True Colors Model on the Career Indecision

Rezvan Salehi Najafabadi

Aim: This study aimed to examine the effect of interest self-awareness training based on True Colors Theory on career indecision among ninth-grade male students. ▌Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control-group design with a one-month follow-up. The study population consisted of ninth-grade male students in Isfahan during the 2022–2023 academic year. A sample of 44 students was selected through multistage cluster random sampling and assigned to an experimental group (n = 22) and a control group (n = 22). The experimental group received seven 90-minute sessions of interest self-awareness training based on Don Lowry’s True Colors Theory (Kalil, 2005), whereas the control group remained on a waiting list. Data were collected using the Career Decision Scale developed by Osipow et al. (1976) and analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance in SPSS version 23. ▌Findings: Interest self-awareness training based on True Colors Theory significantly reduced career indecision among students. The experimental and control groups differed significantly in career indecision at posttest and follow-up, and the reduction in career indecision in the experimental group was maintained at the one-month follow-up (p < .05). ▌Conclusion: Interest self-awareness training based on True Colors Theory was effective in reducing career indecision among ninth-grade male students, with the effects maintained at follow-up. These findings suggest that school counselors, educators, and administrators may use this approach to help students develop greater self-awareness of their interests and address career indecision as they prepare to select an academic track.
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