Thematic Analysis of the Role of Emotional Silence in the Cycle of Marital Conflicts
Keywords:
emotional silence, marital conflict, thematic analysis, couples, emotion regulation, demand-withdraw cycleAbstract
This study aimed to explore married couples’ lived experiences of the role of emotional silence in the formation, maintenance, and escalation of marital conflict cycles. This qualitative study was conducted using a thematic analysis approach. The study population consisted of married couples living in Tehran who reported recurrent marital conflicts and patterns of emotional silence in their relationship. Participants were selected through purposive sampling based on predefined inclusion criteria, and recruitment continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. A total of 22 participants, including 11 married couples, took part in the study. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Each interview lasted between 45 and 75 minutes, was audio-recorded after obtaining informed consent, and was transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was conducted according to Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework, and NVivo software was used to organize codes, subcategories, and themes. Trustworthiness was enhanced through member checking, peer debriefing, prolonged engagement with the data, and maintaining an audit trail. Analysis of the interviews led to the identification of five main categories: silence as a defensive strategy for controlling conflict, punitive silence and the reproduction of emotional distance, interpretive ambiguity and mutual negative attribution, emotional accumulation and explosive return of conflict, and the persistence of silence through cultural, gendered, and family-of-origin patterns. The findings indicated that emotional silence is initially used to avoid direct confrontation or preserve the appearance of the relationship; however, over time, it contributes to misunderstanding, perceived rejection, reduced intimacy, erosion of dialogue, and intensification of the demand-withdraw conflict cycle. Emotional silence in marital conflicts is not merely a passive phenomenon; rather, it is a communicative, defensive, and sometimes punitive act that can reproduce the cycle of conflict. Couple therapy interventions should focus on identifying the meaning of silence, strengthening emotional expression, reducing negative attribution, and reconstructing emotionally safe dialogue.
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