A Neuropsychological Framework for Assessing Marital Conflict: Development of a Brain Systems–Based Conceptual Model
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Objective: This study aimed to identify neuropsychological pattern factors involved in marital conflict and develop a brain systems–based framework for assessment.
Methods and Materials: This applied mixed-methods study used an exploratory sequential design. In the qualitative phase, thematic network analysis, based on Attride-Stirling’s approach, was conducted by reviewing scientific sources on neuropsychology, brain systems, and marital conflict. Initial codes were refined using Q-sort data from 30 men and women with moderate to severe marital conflict and expert evaluation by 9 psychiatrists. The extracted items were assessed for content validity using the content validity ratio and content validity index criteria.
Findings: The analysis identified five major neuropsychological domains associated with marital conflict: prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, basal ganglia, deep limbic system, and temporal cortex. Couples most frequently reported symptoms related to prefrontal dysfunction, including impulsivity, hasty decisions, poor planning, and weak empathy (25%), followed by deep limbic symptoms such as negativity, depression, rejection sensitivity, low sexual desire, and intense emotional reactions (22%). Anterior cingulate symptoms included inflexibility and fixation on past conflicts (20%), basal ganglia symptoms included chronic anxiety and conflict avoidance (18%), and temporal cortex symptoms included aggression, suspiciousness, and misinterpretation of the spouse’s words (15%). Expert review confirmed acceptable content validity, with mean CVR values ranging from 0.80 to 0.87 and mean CVI values from 0.87 to 0.91.
Conclusion: Marital conflict can be conceptualized as a multidimensional outcome of interactions among executive, emotional, anxiety-related, cognitive-flexibility, and socio-emotional brain systems. This framework may support culturally adapted assessment tools and neuroscience-informed couple therapy.
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