Explanation of Experiences of Iranian Women on the Verge of Divorce Regarding Rationality

Background: Rationality is a complex concept that plays a vital role in human choices and decisions. However, this issue has been less addressed in studies on marital life. Objectives: This study was performed to explain the experiences of Iranian women on the verge of divorce regarding rationality. Methods: According to the five-stage Granheim and Landman’s approach, an inductive conventional qualitative content analysis was used to collect and analyze women’s experiences on the verge of divorce. Seventeen women selected through purposive sampling entered the study, and qualitative information was collected using unstructured and semi-structured interviews. Information collection and analysis proceeded simultaneously. The information was saturated with 17 participants, and no new information was extracted. In this study, Lincoln and Guba’s criteria were used to ensure the robustness of the study. Results: After information analysis, two main themes were derived. Limited rationality in marriage was the first one with three main categories: Lack of intellectual preparedness for marital life, irrational marriage decision-making, and unrealistic positive thinking. Lack of marital issues understanding was the second one, categorized into reality shock and negative cognitive-emotional experiences. Conclusions: This qualitative study showed that limited rationality plays a vital role in the lives of women on the verge of divorce. However, learning skills, such as deep thinking and realistic thinking, can help women overcome limitations toward rationality and lack of marital issues understanding.