Abstract
Saudi women tend to remain in unhappy marriages rather than initiating a divorce, leading to high rates of “emotional divorce.” A lack of problem-solving and healthy communication skills puts women in a vulnerable position in their marriage. Relationship education programs have been proven to effectively support healthier marriages. I delivered an adapted, evidence-based marital education program to 25 rural Saudi women. I examined their relationship education needs using a qualitative approach consisting of focus group, interviews, and my reflections. Data were analyzed deductively, and findings offered crucial insights into four domains of relationship education: the program environment, participants, design and delivery, and the program facilitator. The study found that program recruitment and access were facilitated by official college and community partnerships and communication; however, women indicated that household and transportation issues restricted their program access. Implications for both research and practice are considered.
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