Background & Objectives: Parents of adolescents with conduct disorder have distinct personality traits, including disobedience, high–risk behaviors, and coping styles and methods. In addition to genetic characteristics, the behavioral characteristics of parents will have a great impact on adolescents. On the other hand, marital problems and dissatisfaction in relationships between parents also create tension and externalization in adolescents. Thus, interpersonal conflicts between parents can threaten adolescents' perception of emotional security and predispose them to adjustment problems. Marital problems and dissatisfaction in relationships between parents are also effective in creating stress and externalization in adolescents. Therefore, it can be expected that with increasing marital satisfaction, many psychological, emotional, and social problems of families and society will be reduced. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between marital satisfaction and spiritual vitality, based on personality traits with the mediating role of oppositional behaviors in parents of adolescent girls aged 14 to 18 years with conduct disorder living in Tehran City, Iran.
Methods: This research was a descriptive–analytical cross–sectional study. The statistical population included the parents of all adolescent girls aged 14 to 18 years in Tehran with conduct disorder who were studying in the secondary schools in the academic year 2020–2021. The statistical sample was based on the conceptual model of structural equations, including 248 parents. The sampling method was purposeful and based on informing the school staff about some symptoms of conduct disorder; 512 students with some symptoms were identified and more likely to develop conduct disorder. Then, using Youth Self–Report Questionnaire (Achenbach, 1991), a precise assessment was performed and among them, individuals with conduct disorder were identified, and their parents were included in the study as a sample. For screening, 14 and 19 districts of Tehran were purposefully selected and the criterion for excluding participants from the study was non–cooperation. After collecting information, screening was performed first and out of 512 students, 131 were extracted with the highest score in conduct disorder and with scores of 18 and above. In the grading process, with the removal of the families of seven students (due to non–cooperation), 248 parents were included in the study as the final sample. Other measurement tools included Afrooz Marital Satisfaction Scale (Afrooz, 1999), Afrooz Spiritual Vitality Scale (Afrooz, 2016), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1963) and Coping Strategies Questionnaire (Lazarus, 1980). Data analysis was performed with SPSS software version 24 and AMOS version 23. At the level of descriptive statistics, frequency, frequency percentage, mean and standard deviation and at the level of inferential statistics, structural equation modeling was used.
Results: In the extracted model, extraversion personality trait on the problem–oriented coping method had direct and positive effect (p=0.013, β=0.155). The personality trait of psychoticism on marital satisfaction (p=0.021, β=–0.147) and on spiritual vitality (p<0.001, β=–0.227) had direct and negative effects. Emotion–based coping method on marital satisfaction (p<0.001, β=–0.280) and on spiritual vitality (p<0.001, β=–0.306) had direct and negative effects. The problem–based coping method on marital satisfaction (p=0.039, β=0.198) and on spiritual vitality (p<0.001, β=0.396) had direct and positive effect. Extraversion personality trait mediated by problem–based coping behavior on marital satisfaction (p=0.019, β=0.031) and on spiritual vitality (p<0.001, β=0.061) had indirect effect. Also, the effect of total extraversion on satisfaction, marriage and spiritual vitality, as well as other paths and relationships were not significant (p>0.05). The goodness indicators of the model fit indicated the model fit (RMSEA=0.068, GFI=0.993, AGFI=0.931).
Conclusion: The results of this study emphasize the importance of coping skills with stress to promote marital satisfaction and spiritual vitality, and the role of the mediator variable in this study is very prominent. However, coping behaviors, marital satisfaction, and spiritual vitality are directly influenced by personality traits.