Defense Mechanisms and Emotional Divorce in Women: The Mediating Role of Social Media Dependency
Keywords:
Defense Mechanisms, Emotional Divorce, Social Network Addiction, Structural Equation ModelingAbstract
Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the role of defense mechanisms in predicting emotional divorce in women through the mediating role of social media dependency.
Methods and Materials: This study was conducted using a descriptive-correlational design with a structural equation modeling approach. The statistical population consisted of women experiencing emotional divorce who had referred to counseling and psychological service centers. A total of 375 participants were selected through convenience sampling. Data collection instruments included the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ), Gottman’s Emotional Divorce Questionnaire (1994), and the Social Media Dependency Questionnaire developed by Khajeh Ahmadi et al. (2016). Before the main analyses, assumptions of structural equation modeling, including normality, absence of multicollinearity, independence of errors, and lack of univariate and multivariate outliers, were examined and confirmed. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques.
Findings: The findings revealed that defense mechanisms had a significant indirect effect on emotional divorce through social media dependency (β = -0.24, p < 0.001). The results further indicated that increased use of mature defense mechanisms and decreased use of immature and neurotic defenses were associated with lower levels of social media dependency, which in turn reduced emotional divorce among women. In addition, model fit indices supported the adequacy of the proposed conceptual model.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that emotional divorce in women is influenced simultaneously by intrapsychic and behavioral factors. Defense mechanisms, as psychological constructs, and social media dependency, as a common behavioral characteristic of the digital era, interactively affect the quality of marital relationships. The use of mature defenses improves emotional regulation and reduces reliance on avoidant behaviors such as excessive engagement in social media, thereby decreasing the likelihood of emotional divorce. Accordingly, interventions focusing on emotional regulation skills, modification of maladaptive defensive patterns, and balanced social media use may contribute to the prevention of emotional disengagement and marital deterioration.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Nila Kouchasarai (Author); Jamal Sadeghi; Tahmourth Aghajani Hashtjin, Rajabali Mohammadzadeh Admalai, Arsalan Khan Mohammadi Ataqsara (Author)
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