A Deep Look into Interactional Pathology among Couples with Morbidly Jealous Male Partners: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of interactional pathology among couples with the morbidly jealous male partners by examining the lived experiences of 5 female partners. The study attempted to answer the main research question which was, "How do women experience their communication with their morbidly jealous husbands?" along with some sub questions in different dimensions of marital life. The major data collection tool consisted of semi-structured interviews (Seidman, 2013). Forty to sixty-minute interviews were conducted with each participant. Data analysis included a three-phase process: description, reduction, and interpretation. The latter was completed using the qualitative content analysis by Colaizzi (Colaizzi, 1973). Four categories of lived experiences indicating interactional difficulty among the couples were obtained from the data analysis. These interactional damageswere evident in the experiences of all the women interviewed and consisted of themes related to boundaries, control, intimacy and 'meta-damages'. The results of the study revealed that the damages begin with those related to boundaries, develop to control and intimacy rooted in meta-damages and finally terminate marital relationships.