Journal of Culture-Communication Studies

Journal of Culture-Communication Studies

Paradigmatic Model of Interpersonal Communication Issues among Couples in the Family

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
1 Department of Communication Sciences and Knowledge Studies, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Culture and Education, Faculty of Islamic studies, Culture, and Communication, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Associate Professor, Department of the Culture and Governance ,Faculty of Islamic Studies, Culture and Communication, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
This study aimed to identify, explain, and formulate communicative issues in couples’ interpersonal relationships. Given the lack of a comprehensive, communication-centered, and interdisciplinary framework for understanding couples’ relational issues as communication phenomena, the study asked what verbal and nonverbal communicative issues hinder the achievement of complete and effective communication and how these issues can be organized within a paradigm model. The study adopted a qualitative design based on grounded theory, drawing on Strauss and Corbin’s systematic approach. Data were collected from 37 Persian-language books on marital relationships available in Iran, selected through purposive and criterion-based sampling. Data collection and analysis were conducted over six months through open and axial coding. As a result, 2,050 concepts related to communicative issues in couples’ interpersonal relationships were extracted and organized into 38 main categories. Within the paradigm model, incomplete and ineffective communication was identified as the core phenomenon. The findings showed that communicative issues in couples’ interpersonal relationships can be explained in terms of causal, intervening, and contextual conditions, as well as action/interaction strategies and consequences. Among the most prominent categories in these dimensions were failure to understand and respond to needs, intimacy- and desire-dampening behaviors, the temporal context of the relationship cycle, ineffective attempts to improve the relationship, and emotional and legal divorce. The findings indicate that a substantial portion of couples’ interpersonal difficulties is communicative in nature and can be understood, analyzed, and formulated within a human communication framework.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 02 September 2026