Investigating Challenges and Coping Strategies in Intercultural Marriages in Iran: A Qualitative Study of Men's Lived Experiences
Subject Areas : Social issues associated with spouse choosing, changing marriage patterns, divorce, and family instability
amir qorbanpoorlafmejani
1
,
sara qorbanzadeh
2
1 - Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
2 - M.A, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
Keywords: Intercultural marriage, Marriage among men, Coping strategies, Iranian couples, Quality of life.,
Abstract :
Investigating Challenges and Coping Strategies in Intercultural Marriages in Iran: A Qualitative
Study of Men's Lived Experiences
Amir Ghorbanpoor Lafmejani*
Sara Ghorbanzadeh**
In intercultural marriages, couples face numerous challenges due to differences in beliefs, values, customs, traditions, and communication styles. This study aimed to investigate the challenges of intercultural marriages and the coping strategies employed by men involved in intercultural marriages. The present study adopted a qualitative research strategy and applied an inductive qualitative content analysis method. The study sample consisted of all men who had married someone from outside their own city and cultural background and were residing in one of the cities of Iran. 25 male participants were interviewed. Following the analysis of the interviews, six main themes related to the challenges of intercultural marriage were identified, including challenges related to religious beliefs, communication challenges, family-related challenges, differences in customs and traditions, challenges arising from geographical distance, and challenges arising from regional and geographical differences. In addition, five main themes related to coping strategies were identified: passive/avoidant strategies, cognitive strategies, interactive strategies, religious strategies, and solution-oriented strategies. To reduce the challenges facing intercultural marriages and help improve their quality of life, it is suggested that family counselors and couple therapists adopt a comprehensive approach by placing intercultural communication skills training, strengthening social support networks, utilizing the capacity of religious strategies in coping with conflicts, and facilitating the process of creating a "third culture" by couples on their agenda.
Keywords: Intercultural marriage, Marriage among men, Coping strategies, Iranian couples, Quality of life.
Introduction
Marriage, as the most fundamental social institution, plays a pivotal role in family formation and the continuity of culture within societies. In recent years, extensive developments in communication technology, transportation, and internal migration have provided the conditions for an increase in marriages in which spouses have distinct cultural, linguistic, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. These marriages, known as intercultural marriages, face numerous challenges due to differences in beliefs, values, customs and traditions, and communication styles, which can affect marital satisfaction and, in some cases, lead to divorce. Despite the increasing prevalence of such marriages in Iran, the research literature indicates that most domestic studies have adopted quantitative approaches and have primarily focused on identifying scattered challenges, while less attention has been paid to an in-depth exploration of the coping strategies that couples themselves employ when confronting cultural conflicts. Accordingly, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the challenges of intercultural marriages and the coping strategies employed by Iranian men, to fill the existing research gap and provide an indigenous model of the process of confronting the challenges of intercultural marriages. The research literature indicates that international studies, such as those by Sindane (2014), Dewaele (2018), Kim and Yu (2022), and Sun and Yuan (2021), have more extensively addressed challenges such as differences in religious beliefs, communication and language difficulties, conflicts with the spouse's family, and differences in rituals and traditions. In Iran, studies by Shirdel and Shojaei (2016) and Rajabi et al. (2017) have also pointed to some of these challenges. However, what has received less attention in these studies is the presentation of an integrated framework of coping strategies that couples themselves develop within the specific cultural context of Iran. In particular, the role of distinctive features of Iranian culture, such as strong familism, the vital importance of religion as a component of identity, profound intracultural differences among provinces, and the use of religious strategies as a coping resource, has not been systematically examined in previous research.
Methodology
The present study was conducted using a qualitative research strategy and an inductive qualitative content analysis method. The study population consisted of all men who had married someone from outside their own city and cultural background and were residing in one of the cities of Iran. Purposive sampling was conducted using the snowball sampling method. The inclusion criterion was being in an intercultural marriage. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview. The interview process continued until theoretical saturation was reached (at the 23rd interview); however, to ensure greater confidence in the findings, interviews were continued until 25 participants had been interviewed. The average duration of the interviews was 35 minutes. The data were analyzed using the conventional qualitative content analysis method proposed by Hsieh and Shannon (2005). To establish trustworthiness, participant review (member checking) and expert review were employed.
Results
The findings of the study are presented in two sections: challenges and coping strategies.
In the section on challenges, six main themes were extracted:
- Challenges related to religious beliefs, including two subcategories: "greater freedom of the wife and her family regarding religious boundaries" and "insistence of the wife and her family on religious boundaries."
- Communication challenges, including four subcategories: "differences in the level of social interaction," "misinterpretation of words and behaviors," "weakness in communication skills," and "different love languages."
- Family-related challenges, including two subcategories: "family interference" and "lack of or insufficient financial assistance from families."
- Differences in customs and traditions, including two subcategories: "differences in engagement, wedding, and dowry customs" and "different perspectives across cities."
- Challenges arising from geographical distance, including two subcategories: "problems related to the distance between locations" and "emotional difficulties resulting from being away from families."
In the section on coping strategies, five main themes were identified:
- Passive/Avoidant Strategy, including three subcategories: "silence and forbearance," "avoidance and distancing," and "letting time pass."
- Cognitive Strategy, including two subcategories: "identifying and accepting differences and similarities" and "increasing knowledge and information."
- Interactive Strategy, including three subcategories: "increasing verbal communication with the spouse," "consulting experienced individuals," and "establishing appropriate boundaries with families."
- Religious Strategy, including the subcategory "using spiritual resources and practices."
- Solution-Oriented Strategy, including three subcategories: "seeking assistance from a professional counselor," "migrating to a new city and creating a third culture," and "increasing visits to the spouse's city to alleviate homesickness."
Discussion and Conclusion
The present study demonstrated that Iranian men in intercultural marriages experience a wide range of challenges. Based on Face-Negotiation Theory (Ting-Toomey, 1988), religious conflicts and differences in religious boundaries are not merely differences in personal preferences; rather, they constitute threats to an individual's face in relation to their family and traditional society. Furthermore, based on Uncertainty Reduction Theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975), differences in direct versus indirect communication styles intensify uncertainty and create communication-related stress. From the perspective of Kim's (2001) theory of intercultural adaptation, the family serves as the primary host social network, and in Iranian culture, due to strong familism, family interference may continue even years after marriage. Furthermore, according to Cultural Identity Theory (Collier & Thomas, 1988), differences in customs and dietary habits are not merely matters of personal preference but reflect different systems of meaning that are deeply intertwined with individuals' cultural identities.
In contrast, men employ five coping strategies, and their success largely depends on replacing passive strategies, such as silence, patience, and avoidance, with interactive and solution-oriented strategies, such as dialogue, consultation, establishing boundaries with families, seeking professional counseling, and creating a third culture. The religious strategy, including prayer, supplication to the Imams, and seeking assistance from God, was identified as a distinctive feature of Iranian-Islamic culture. Although it can be categorized as emotion-focused coping, it has an active dimension and can be utilized as a positive resource in counseling interventions.
The present study recommends that family counselors and couple therapists place the following measures on their agenda: training intercultural communication skills with an emphasis on non-threatening questioning and managing linguistic misunderstandings; strengthening social support networks; utilizing the capacity of religious strategies in coping with conflicts; facilitating the process of creating a "third culture" by couples through migration to a third city or the development of new family patterns; and designing pre- and post-marital educational and counseling programs that emphasize appropriate boundary-setting with families and the management of cultural expectations.
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* Corresponding Author: Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
qorbanpoorlafmejani@guilan.ac.ir
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3548-5629
** M.A, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
ghorbanzadeh_sara@yahoo.com
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4256-9104
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