Narratives of Divorce Among Men and Women in Arak: A Grounded Theory

Parsazade, Pegah; Aliahmadi, Omid; Roshanaei, Ali

doi:10.22034/jss.2026.2065646.1909

Narratives of Divorce Among Men and Women in Arak: A Grounded Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Pegah parsazade

omid Aliahmadi

ali roshanaei

Department of Sociology, Ashtian Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ashtian, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/jss.2026.2065646.1909

Abstract

Background and Objective: Divorce, as one of the prominent social challenges in contemporary Iran, leaves multifaceted consequences on mental health, interpersonal relationships, and family structure.
Methods and Data: The present study was conducted using a qualitative approach and the grounded theory method. Participants included 30 divorced men and women residing in the city of Arak, who were selected based on criteria of diversity in age, education, duration of marital cohabitation, and cause of divorce. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and continued until theoretical saturation was reached.
Findings: The core category extracted was "lack of love and emotional coldness," identified as the main driving force behind relationship deterioration. Causal conditions included family conflicts, mutual distrust, and extramarital affairs; contextual conditions included economic–livelihood pressures, excessive materialism, and the tension between traditional and modern values; and intervening conditions included sexual problems, hasty marriages, and lack of communication skills. The dominant strategy adopted by participants in facing these conditions was a conflict-oriented pattern. The reported consequences were divided into two categories: positive and negative.
Discussion and Conclusion: The paradigmatic model derived from this research depicts divorce in Arak not as an instantaneous event but as a gradual process shaped by the interweaving of individual, interpersonal, and structural factors. The prominence of the category "emotional coldness" in both gender groups reveals the necessity of paying attention to premarital and ongoing marital programs for training emotional and communication skills. Gender differences in prioritizing causes indicate the need for distinct interventions for men and women.

Keywords

Divorce

Family

Gender Differences

Grounded Theory

Arak City

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