Relational Savoring as an Approach to Improve Marital Relationship Outcomes

A Pilot Study Among Iranian Wives

Bibliographic Data

ID19232256
AuthorsZahra Sadeghi Dehnavi (Shahrekord University), Zabihollah Kaveh Farsani (0000-0001-7936-2351, Shahrekord University), Jessica L Borelli (0000-0001-8471-6732, Department of Psychology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-04-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/02654075261441905
OpenAlexW7153482459
LanguageEN
References cited60

Marital relationship quality is a strong predictor of overall health, making it a critical target for prevention and intervention efforts. In Iran, rapid cultural shifts have reshaped marital dynamics, highlighting the need for accessible psychological support. Relational Savoring (RS), a brief attachment-based program, aims to strengthen relationship quality by guiding individuals to re-experience moments of positive connectedness. The present study is the first to evaluate a 4-week, group-based RS program in Iran among 96 female spouses, testing its effects on affective (positive emotion, relationship closeness) and cognitive (relationship satisfaction) domains at post-treatment and three-month follow-up, compared to a no-treatment control. The study also tested an exploratory research question regarding whether sharing savored memories with one’s partner between sessions had a differential impact relative to the traditional relational savoring protocol, which does not prescribe sharing. Results showed that the RS-Combined condition (pooling both savoring conditions) produced greater improvements across all outcomes at post-treatment with small effect sizes (marginal R 2 = 0.02–0.05), although these effects were not sustained at the three-month follow-up. Comparisons between the two savoring conditions (RS-No Share versus RS-Share) revealed mixed patterns: sharing was linked with stronger gains in positive emotion at post-treatment, whereas not sharing was associated with greater improvements in relationship closeness and satisfaction at post-treatment. We interpret these findings to suggest preliminary promise for RS, particularly RS-No Share, in improving short-term outcomes for Iranian wives. Future work should examine ways of prolonging the effects observed in this study

Closeness · Cognition · Differential effects · Exploratory research · Positive relationship · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications

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