Applied Research in Consulting

The Effectiveness of Premarital Education Based on the Interpersonal Awareness and Choice (PICK) Program on Fear of Marriage in Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Zohreh Ahmadi 1
Sedigheh Shirvani 2

1 M. A Family Counseling, Mahdi Mehr Isfahan Institute of Higher Education, Isfahan, Iran. Email: ahmadi.zohreh1358@gmail.com

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling, Al-Hamdi Mehr Institute of Higher Education, Isfahan, Iran. (Corresponding author). Email: Dr.shirvanis@amesf.ac.ir

Abstract
The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of premarital education based on the Interpersonal Awareness and Choice (PICK) Program on fear of marriage in students. The research design was quasi-experimental with pre-test-post-test and control group. The statistical population included single students of Al-Mahdi Mehr Institute of Higher Education in Isfahan in the academic year 2023-2024, from whom 30 people were purposefully selected and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (15 people each). The Premarital Fears Questionnaire by Samiei et al. (2013) was used to collect data. The experimental group underwent group training in the interpersonal awareness and choice program based on the One-Up model (2007) for 9 sessions of 90 minutes, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance and SPSS-24 software. The results showed that the aforementioned training significantly reduced students' fear of marriage (P<0.05). Also, the effectiveness of training based on the square of eta was 68 percent, respectively. The research findings indicate that premarital training based on the interpersonal awareness and choice program can be used as an effective educational intervention to prepare young people to consciously choose a spouse and reduce concerns related to marriage. By increasing cognitive and interpersonal skills, this program helps students have a more realistic understanding of relationships and be more capable in the process of making marriage decisions.

Keywords

Fear of marriage
premarital training based on the interpersonal awareness and choice program
students
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