A Qualitative Study of Men’s Experiences of Emotional Rejection in Marital Relationships
Keywords:
Emotional rejection, married men, marital relationships, thematic analysis, emotional intimacy, TehranAbstract
This study aimed to explore married men’s lived experiences of emotional rejection in marital relationships and to identify the meanings, consequences, and coping strategies associated with this experience. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. Participants were 18 married men living in Tehran who were selected through purposive sampling based on their self-reported experience of emotional rejection in marriage. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, and sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Each interview lasted between 45 and 75 minutes, was audio-recorded with consent, and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using NVivo software following the main phases of thematic analysis: familiarization with the data, initial coding, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the final report. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer debriefing, audit trail documentation, and thick contextual description were used. Data analysis led to the identification of four main categories: “emotional invisibility in the relationship,” “masculine shame and self-censorship of emotional needs,” “the cycle of silent protest and gradual withdrawal,” and “psychological, sexual, and relational consequences of emotional rejection.” Participants described emotional rejection not merely as the absence of explicit affection, but as a repeated experience of being unseen, not being taken seriously, having emotional vulnerability ignored, and gradually losing emotional safety within the marital bond. Emotional rejection in married men’s experiences is a multilayered phenomenon shaped by the intersection of intimacy needs, masculine norms, couple communication patterns, and perceived partner responsiveness. The findings suggest that couple therapy interventions should move beyond communication-skills training and focus on validating men’s emotional needs, reducing shame around vulnerability, and reconstructing cycles of emotional responsiveness.
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