Spirituality-Based Counseling Improves Family Relationships and Quality of Life among Cohabiting South Asian Mothers-in-Law and Daughters-in-Law

Abstract

This article reports a study on the effect of a joint online spirituality-based counseling (OSC) intervention in improving the relationship quality and quality of life of South Asian mothers-in-law (MILs) and daughters-in-law (DILs) dyads. The OSE was effective (Cohen’s d range = 1.44–3.76, p≤.01) and post-test scores were higher for Hindu and Buddhist dyads, middle class, MILs-DILs with better education, widowed MILs and currently married DILs. OSC attendance and self-practice mediated the relationship between socio-demographic predictors and outcomes. Relationship quality outcomes of the MILs-DILs were interdependent, associated and in turn predicted quality of life outcomes of the dyads and the mutual interdependence.

Keywords:

• Mother-in-law-daughter-in-law dyads
• cohabitation
• family relationships
• relationship quality
• quality of life
• online spirituality-based counseling