This experimental study examined the effectiveness of communication skills training based on Transactional Analysis (TA) in enhancing multiple dimensions of marital intimacy within a communal cultural context.
Method
Participants were married female teachers recruited from public high schools and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 15) using a pre-test/post-test design. The experimental group received TA-based training delivered over nine weekly sessions, each lasting two hours. Marital intimacy was assessed using the Marital Intimacy Questionnaire, comprising 87 items across nine subscales.
Results
TA training significantly improved overall marital intimacy scores, with statistically significant gains observed in most subscales—particularly emotional, rational, sexual, and psychological intimacy. Only spiritual intimacy showed no significant change.
Discussion
The findings suggest that TA-based communication training can be an effective and culturally adaptable intervention for enhancing relationship quality. The results underscore the value of integrating structured, skills-based communication programs into marital enrichment strategies, particularly in collectivist settings where relational harmony is highly valued.
AskariM.NoahS. M.HassanS. A.BabaM. (2013). Comparison of the effects of communication and conflict resolution skills training on mental health. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 5(1), 91. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijps.v5n1p91
2.
BagarozziD. A. (2014). Enhancing intimacy in marriage: A clinician's guide (1st ed.). Routledge.
3.
BerneE. (1961). Transactional analysis in psychotherapy: A systematic individual and social psychiatry. Grove Press.
4.
BurlesonB. R.DentonW. H. (1997). The relationship between communication skill and marital satisfaction: Some moderating effects. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59(4), 884. https://doi.org/10.2307/353790
5.
DaneshE. (2010). Investigating the effectiveness of conversational communication method in increasing the marital compatibility of incompatible couples. Family Studies, 23(6), 373–391.
6.
EtemadiO.NavabinejadS.AhmadiA.FarzadV. (2006). Investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral couple therapy on marital intimacy referred to counseling centers in Isfahan. Quarterly Journal of Psychological Studies, 2, 69–87.
7.
GallagherR. W.HobfollS. E.RitterC.LavinJ. (1997). Marriage, intimate support and depression during pregnancy. Journal of Health Psychology, 2(4), 457–469. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910539700200403
8.
GanguliP. (2024). Intimacy revisited: Investigating the role of emotional and physical closeness in marriage maintenance.Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4963409
9.
GordonC. L.ArnetteR. A.SmithR. E. (2011). Have you thanked your spouse today?: Felt and expressed gratitude among married couples. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(3), 339–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.10.012
HarrisT. A. (1967). I'm OK – You're OK: A practical guide to transactional analysis. Harper & Row.
12.
HosseinianS., et al. (2013). Effectiveness of communication skills training on marital intimacy of married women. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 84, 9–13.
13.
JafariA.AlamiA.CharoghchianE.Delshad NoghabiA.NejatianM. (2021). The impact of effective communication skills training on the status of marital burnout among married women. BMC Women's Health, 21(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01372-8
14.
JohnssonR.StenlundG. (2010). The affective dimension of alliance in transactional analysis psychotherapy. International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research & Practice, 1(1), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.29044/v1i1p45
15.
KimH. J. (2001). Comparison of the level of marital intimacy according to the level of stress among middle aged women. Journal of Korean Maternal and Child Health, 5(1), 123–136.
16.
KirbyJ. S.BaucomD. H.PetermanM. A. (2005). An investigation of unmet intimacy needs in marital relationships. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 31(4), 313–325. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2005.tb01573.x
17.
KornyeyevaL. (2023). Rethinking the parent: A valuing-based ego state model. International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research & Practice, 14(2), 24–32. https://doi.org/10.29044/v14i2p24
18.
LangdridgeD.GabbJ.LawsonJ. (2018). Working with group-level data in phenomenological research: A modified visual matrix method. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 1(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2018.1499838
19.
LaurenceauJ.-P.BarrettL.PietromonacoP. R. (1998). Intimacy as an interpersonal process: The importance of self-disclosure, partner disclosure, and perceived partner responsiveness in interpersonal exchanges. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(5), 1238–1251. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1238
20.
LavnerJ. A.KarneyB. R.BradburyT. N. (2016). Does couples’ communication predict marital satisfaction, or does marital satisfaction predict communication?Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(3), 680–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12301
21.
LyubomirskyS.DickerhoofR.BoehmJ. K.SheldonK. M. (2011). Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: An experimental longitudinal intervention to boost well-being. Emotion, 11(2), 391–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022575
22.
ManneS.BadrH.ZaiderT.NelsonC.KissaneD. (2009). Cancer-related communication, relationship intimacy, and psychological distress among couples coping with localized prostate cancer. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 4(1), 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-009-0109-y
MasseyR. F. (1995). Theory for treating individuals from a transactional analytic/systems perspective. Transactional Analysis Journal, 25(3), 271–284. https://doi.org/10.1177/036215379502500314
25.
McKimmJ.ForrestK. (2010). Using transactional analysis to improve clinical and educational supervision: The drama and winner's triangles. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 86(1015), 261–265. https://doi.org/10.1136/pgmj.2009.093310
26.
NeffL.KarneyB. R. (2009). Stress and reactivity to daily relationship experiences: How stress hinders adaptive processes in marriage. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(3), 435–450. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015663
27.
O’BrienK.RoeB.LowC.DeynL.RogersS. N. (2012). An exploration of the perceived changes in intimacy of patients’ relationships following head and neck cancer. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 21(17–18), 2499–2508. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2012.04162.x
28.
OhlssonT. (2010). Scientific evidence base for transactional analysis in the year 2010. International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research & Practice, 1(1), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.29044/v1i1p4
29.
OliyaN.FatehizadehM.BahramiF. (2006). The effectiveness of marital life enrichment training on increasing couples’ intimacy. Family Research, 6(2), 119–135.
30.
ParkH. J. (2016). Influences of social welfare facility workers’ work-family conflicts on job satisfaction: Focusing on mediation effects of family strengths. Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
31.
PatrickS.SellsJ. N.GiordanoF. G.TollerudT. R. (2007). Intimacy, differentiation, and personality variables as predictors of marital satisfaction. The Family Journal, 15(4), 359–367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480707303754
32.
RoggeR. D.CobbR. J.LawrenceE.JohnsonM. D.BradburyT. N. (2013). Is skills training necessary for the primary prevention of marital distress and dissolution? A 3-year experimental study of three interventions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81(6), 949–961. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034209
33.
SalamatM. (2005). Examine the effectiveness of relational skills teaching by using the transactional analysis method on decreasing the marital conflicts in couples of Isfahan city [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Islamic Azad University of Rudehen.
34.
SlavikS.CarlsonJ.SperryL. (1992). Adlerian marital therapy with the passive-aggressive partner. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 20(1), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926189208250873
35.
SodaniM.HonarmandM. Z.SoltaniZ. (2012). The effectiveness of transactional analysis training on increasing the performance of incompatible couples. Family Counseling and Psychotherapy, 2(3), 268–287.
36.
SteinerC. (2005). Transactional analysis: An elegant theory and practice. The Script, 35(2), 4–5.
37.
StewartI.JoinesV. (1987). TA today: A new introduction to transactional analysis. Lifespace Publishing.
38.
TavakolizadehJ.NejatianM.SooriA. (2015). The effectiveness of communication skills training on marital conflicts and its different aspects in women. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 171, 214–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.112
39.
TorkanH. (2006). Examine the effectiveness of group training of transactional analysis on marital satisfaction of Isfahan couples [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Isfahan University.
40.
WiddowsonM. (2011). Depression: A literature review on diagnosis, subtypes, patterns of recovery, and psychotherapeutic models. Transactional Analysis Journal, 41(4), 351–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/036215371104100411
41.
WiddowsonM. (2020). Transactional analysis: The basics. Routledge.
42.
ZaheriF.DolatianM.ShariatiM.SimbarM.EbadiA.Hasanpoor AzghadiS. (2016). Effective factors in marital satisfaction in perspective of Iranian women and men: A systematic review. Electronic Physician, 8(12), 3369–3377. 10.19082/3369
