The prevalence and related factors with demand or withdraw couples communication pattern

Context: Many couples’ problems are related to failure a successful relationship. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the demand/withdraw communication pattern and its related factors between couples. Setting and Design: This cross‑sectional study was performed on couples in Sari, Iran, 2018. Materials and Methods: This study was performed on 260 couples living in Sari who were selected through cluster sampling. Data were collected using a social‑medical questionnaire, NEO Personality Inventory, General Health Questionnaire, Enrich couple scale, and couples Communication Patterns Questionnaire (CPQ). Statistical Analysis Used: For data analysis, we used descriptive (mean standard deviation [SD]) and frequency and inferential statistics (simple and multiple regression model). Results: The mean (SD) of women’s age was 34.08 (7.71) years, whereas the mean (SD)and of men’s age was 39.13 (9.18) years. Furthermore, 34.2% of women and 38.8% of men used the demand/withdraw communication pattern. The results of regression showed that the variables of flexibility (P = 0.036), conscientiousness (P = 0.011), and satisfaction of socioeconomic status (P = 0.038) were positively and current pregnancy (P = 0.005) and female marriage age (P = 0.019) were had negatively correlated with demand/ withdraw communication pattern in both women and men Conclusion: According to the results, there was a relationship between couples’ demand/withdraw communication pattern and demographic characteristics, marital satisfaction, and personality traits. Therefore, it is recommended that the factors related to couples’ communication patterns to provide a solution to promote these patterns toward constructive communication pattern and take effective steps toward preventing marital conflicts for establishing a more efficient relationship.