Explaining the Process of Emotional Distance Formation Among Couples With Adolescent Children: Emphasizing Parental Burnout, Role Conflict, and Reduced Couple Dialogue
Keywords:
Emotional distance, parental burnout, role conflict, couple dialogue, adolescent child, Tehran couples, qualitative research.Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to explain the process through which emotional distance develops among couples with adolescent children, with particular attention to parental burnout, conflict between parental and spousal roles, and the decline of couple dialogue.
Methods and Materials: This qualitative study was conducted using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Participants included 24 married parents residing in Tehran who had at least one adolescent child aged 13 to 18 years. Purposeful sampling with maximum variation was used to recruit participants with diverse characteristics in terms of gender, age, duration of marriage, education, employment status, and family structure. Data were collected exclusively through semi-structured interviews. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached; saturation was achieved at the twenty-first interview, and three additional interviews were conducted to ensure data sufficiency. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using NVivo software through open, axial, and selective coding procedures. Credibility and trustworthiness were enhanced through member checking, peer debriefing, analytic memo writing, and maintaining an audit trail.
Findings: Data analysis resulted in five main categories: “accumulation of parental burnout and depletion of emotional capacity,” “dominance of the parental role over the spousal role,” “reduction of couple dialogue and transformation of communication into task management,” “cycle of resentment, withdrawal, and protective silence,” and “stabilization of emotional distance through duty-oriented coexistence.” Findings indicated that emotional distance does not emerge suddenly; rather, it develops gradually through repeated experiences of parental exhaustion, role conflict, diminished emotional conversation, unrecognized spousal needs, and increasingly cold and problem-focused interactions.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that couples with adolescent children may experience gradual erosion of emotional intimacy when parenting pressures, educational concerns, economic responsibilities, and family role demands restrict opportunities for couple dialogue and emotional connection. Couple-based interventions for this population should move beyond conflict resolution and focus on restoring emotional dialogue, redefining boundaries between parental and spousal roles, reducing parental burnout, and strengthening supportive coparenting patterns.
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