Presenting a Model for Reducing Cultural and Social Harms to Families: Divorce, Addiction, and Marital Relationships in Kerman

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a comprehensive indigenous model for reducing cultural and social harms affecting families, with particular emphasis on divorce, addiction, and marital relationship problems in Kerman, Iran. This applied qualitative study was conducted within an interpretive paradigm using thematic analysis. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 experts in cultural management, social sciences, and urban management who were selected purposively, and interviewing continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. The data were analyzed inductively through repeated examination of the interview transcripts, extraction of meaningful concepts, development of basic themes, clustering of conceptually related categories, and formation of organizing and overarching themes. External review and researcher pluralism were employed to enhance the credibility and dependability of the qualitative analysis and the resulting model. The thematic analysis indicated that reducing family-related cultural and social harms requires an integrated, multilevel framework comprising five overarching themes: strengthening and consolidating the family institution, promoting healthy family lifestyles, developing and consolidating Islamic values within the family, addressing structural and functional changes in the family institution, and effectively managing cultural and social structures. Collectively, these dimensions encompassed 47 organizing themes. The analytical synthesis further indicated that divorce, addiction, and dysfunctional marital relationships cannot be adequately addressed through isolated individual-level interventions. Rather, effective harm reduction depends on the interaction of couple and family empowerment, communication and family-life skills, ethical and religious values, adaptation to structural transformations within the family, cultural and social education, and coordinated institutional management. The proposed model conceptualizes family harms as multidimensional phenomena requiring coordinated interventions across individual, familial, cultural, and institutional levels. It can therefore provide a context-sensitive framework for policymakers and cultural and social institutions seeking to design preventive interventions, reduce divorce and addiction-related vulnerabilities, improve marital relationships, and strengthen family stability in Kerman.