The spousal role of middle-aged Iranian women: A qualitative content-analysis study

Abstract

This study aimed to explain the spousal role in the lives of Iranian middle-aged women. This qualitative study was conducted in Iran from July 2018 to November 2019. The participants included 25 middle-aged women selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed through conventional content analysis. The theme of reviving the spousal role was explained by three main categories of paying more attention to the spouse’s needs, enhancing feminine charms, and maintaining married life. A deeper understanding of the middle-aged women’s spousal role may help health-care personnel to develop indigenous marriage-enrichment programs for middle-aged individuals.

Keywords:

• Iran
• middle-aged
• qualitative analysis
• role
• women

Acknowledgments

This article is part of a PhD dissertation in nursing, approved and financially supported by Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. The authors would like to thank all the participants for sharing their valuable experiences, and the vice chancellor for research at Tarbiat Modares University for financial support.

Author contributions

Fatemeh Fallahi: designing the study; collecting, analyzing and interpreting the data; and writing a draft article.

Monireh Anoosheh: cooperation in designing the study, analyzing and interpreting the data, applying fundamental corrections in transcripts, and supervising the study.

Mahshid Froughan: cooperation in designing the study; collecting, analyzing and interpreting the data; applying fundamental corrections in transcripts; and supervising the study.

Zohreh Vanaki: cooperation in designing the study, analyzing and interpreting the data, applying fundamental corrections in transcripts, and supervising the study.

Anoushiravan Kazemnejad: cooperation in designing the study, analyzing and interpreting the data, applying fundamental corrections in transcripts, and supervising the study.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The qualitative data that were analyzed and presented in this study are not publicly available on account of the privacy of the participants.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.