CONFLICT RESOLUTION AMONG PAKISTANI MARRIED COUPLES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY
Keywords:
Communication, Compromise, Conflict Resolution, Marital Relationships, Pakistan, Qualitative ResearchAbstract
This article draws on a qualitative study examining how married individuals in Pakistan perceive and navigate conflict within their marital relationships. Marriage in Pakistan is embedded within a strong framework of religious, cultural, and family expectation, and how couples manage disagreement has consistently been shown to shape marital wellbeing more than the mere presence of conflict itself. Using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five married participants, each describing their lived experience of disagreement and reconciliation with their spouse. Six major themes emerged from the data: open and timely communication as the primary resolution strategy, mutual compromise and accountability, cultural and religious underpinnings of conflict resolution, emotional regulation and personal growth, trust and relational bonding through resolution, and boundaries with extended family and self-reliance. The findings suggest that, for these participants, marital conflict was rarely destructive; instead, it functioned as a recurring opportunity for growth, deepened understanding, and strengthened trust. The discussion situates these findings within the broader empirical literature on marital conflict, conflict resolution styles, and marital satisfaction, and considers implications for counselling practice in Pakistan as well as directions for future research.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sana Nasir, Muhammad Adeeb, Khalida Parveen, Amina Habib , Anayya Malik (Author)
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