Grounded theory model

 Using a qualitative approach and the grounded theory, the present study seeks to analyze the perception of marriage by the university students in Isfahan. The field of the research was the state universities in Isfahan, including Isfahan University, Isfahan University of Technology, and the Medical University of Isfahan. The participants included thirty students of various fields of study at different levels of education. They were selected through purposeful-theoretical sampling, and the required data were derived from semi-structured in-depth interviews. The data analysis was performed by open, axial and selective coding processes and a paradigmatic model as the analytical tool. Also, the content validity of the research was evaluated with validation techniques, by an external expert, and through analytical comparisons. As the research findings indicated, university students’ perception of marriage can be discussed based on the components of a paradigmatic model, including causal conditions (i.e., underlying obstacles, failure phobia, limitation assumptions, mental imaging of marriage), intervening conditions (i.e., available alternatives, marriage patterns), background conditions (i.e., variation of roles, commercialization of marriage), strategies (individual and institutional ones), consequences (psychological, affective, social and economic ones), and the core category of ‘marriage as an unpredictable phenomenon’