Efficacy of Bowen Theory on Marital Conflict in the Family Nursing Practice: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ABSTRACT

Family plays an important role in health and illness, and preparing the nurses to assess and improve the family functioning and relationship based on a theoretical framework is of critical importance. This randomized controlled trial was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of Bowen system theory on marital conflict in the family nursing practice. A total of 42 couples referring to the family court of Shiraz, Iran were randomly assigned to either the intervention (receiving eight 90-minute sessions of Bowen systemic family therapy) or the control group (receiving no interventions). Outcomes were measured before, after and after one month of the follow up by marital conflict questionnaire and analyzed using repeated measure ANOVAs and t-test. The study results revealed no statistically significant differences between the study groups regarding the total marital conflict scores (t = 2.8, p = .935) or any of the seven subscales of conflict before the intervention (p > .05). However, a significant difference was observed between the two groups in this regard immediately and one month after the intervention (p < .05). The results demonstrated a significant difference between the intervention and control groups regarding the conflict scores and its subscales during the three study periods and groups (F = 79.43, p < .001). This study highlighted the importance of applying Bowen systemic family therapy by nurses in decreasing marital conflicts. Similar studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-ups are recommended to be conducted on the issue.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran and also the Center for Development of Clinical Research of Nemazee Hospital and Dr. Nasrin Shokrpour for editorial assistance. Additionally, the authors would like to thank the authorities of Family Court and counseling center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and all the couples who cooperated in the study. Dr. Shahrzad Yektatalab, Fatemeh Seddigh Oskouee, and Mansour Sodani were responsible for the study design, data collection, data analysis, and drafting the manuscript. Dr. Shahrzad Yektatalab made critical revisions to the paper for important intellectual content. Fatemeh Seddigh Oskouee obtained funding. Dr. Shahrzad Yektatalab provided administrative and technical support.

Declaration of interest

The financial support is a MSc. scholarship from research deputy and represents no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Funding

The study was financially supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. This study was a part of a student thesis supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (88-4666) and recorded in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT2014082318902N1).