Marjan Bahremand; Marzieh Talebzadeh Shoushtari; Fatemeh Sadat Marashian
Abstract
Background: Infertility is one of the disturbances that may occur in the lives of couples, leading to experiences of psychological distress and endangering interpersonal relationships and marital quality. This study investigated the efficacy of intensive shortterm dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) in enhancing ...
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Background: Infertility is one of the disturbances that may occur in the lives of couples, leading to experiences of psychological distress and endangering interpersonal relationships and marital quality. This study investigated the efficacy of intensive shortterm dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) in enhancing distress tolerance and marital quality of life among infertile women in Yazd, Iran.Methods: A semi-experimental pretest-posttest follow-up design with an experimental and control group (n=20 per group) was employed. Forty infertile women from the target population in Yazd, Iran (data collected in 2023) were randomly assigned into either the experimental group receiving eight 45-minute ISTDP sessions or the control group receiving no intervention. For data collection, questionnaires on distress tolerance and perceived relationship quality components were used. Data analysis was done by a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS version 27 was used.Results: According to the results, for distress tolerance, the mean score for the ISTDP group at the pretest was 31.55 (±13.14), which increased to 50.10 (±9.31) at posttest and 49.70 (±8.68) in the follow-up. The mean score for the control group at the pretest and posttest were 32.05 (±10.28) and 32.25 (±10.17), respectively. Moreover, for the marital quality of life, the mean score for the ISTDP group at the pretest was 70.40 (±19.47), which increased to 90.70 (±20.59) at the posttest and 91.15 (±20.75) at the follow-up. The mean score for the control group at the pretest and posttest was 66.85 (±21.75) and 65.85 (±20.66), respectively. There was a statistically significant within-group effect in the ISTDP group (P<0.01). The results revealed a statistically significant difference (P<0.001) between the intervention and control groups on distress tolerance and marital quality of life measures. The effectiveness of ISTDP in improving distress tolerance and marital quality of life was significant, and the treatment effects remained stable during the follow-up phase.Conclusions: It appears that ISTDP can be an effective step towards improving distress tolerance and marital quality of life. Therefore, ISTDP is considered a key and effective intervention.
Sakineh Ameri; Fatemeh Sadat Marashian
Abstract
Background: Marital dissatisfaction in women can lead to persistent adverse effects and psychological disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples on psychological distress and marital disaffection in women traumatized by their husbands’ extramarital ...
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Background: Marital dissatisfaction in women can lead to persistent adverse effects and psychological disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples on psychological distress and marital disaffection in women traumatized by their husbands’ extramarital affairs.Methods: This semi-experimental research was conducted using a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The study population included all women visiting the Mehravaran Counseling Center in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, Iran in 2022, who were dealing with their husbands’ extramarital affairs. After convenience sampling, 30 individuals were selected and subsequently divided into the experimental and control groups randomly following the pretest. In this process, the experimental group underwent nine weekly 60-minute sessions of EFT for couples, while the control group received no interventions. During the post-test phase, all participants completed research questionnaires. The research tools comprised the Marital Disaffection Scale and Psychological Distress Scale. The data obtained were analyzed using ANCOVA in SPSS version 24.Results: The mean (±SD) of psychological distress and marital disaffection in the control group were 23.13±3.64 and 33.13±4.29 in the pretest and 23.67±3.67 and 33.53±4.17 in the post-test. Meanwhile, the mean (±SD) of psychological distress and marital disaffection were 23.40±3.71 and 33.80±4.09 in the experimental group during the pretest and 18.53±3.96 and 28.00±3.11 in the post-test. The results indicated that EFT for couples alleviated psychological distress (P=0.001) and marital disaffection (P=0.001) in women traumatized by their husbands’ extramarital affairs.Conclusion: Given the effectiveness of EFT in reducing marital disaffection and psychological distress in women traumatized by their husbands’ extramarital affairs, it is recommended to provide couples with instruction in emotion-focused strategies to reconstruct and enhance their relationships. Engaging in such an approach can help reinforce positive beliefs and effectively address the psychological challenges experienced by women traumatized by their husbands’ extramarital involvements.
Rohollah Sharifi Nejad Rodani; Fatemeh Sadat Marashian; Masoud Shahbazi
Abstract
Background: The stability and quality of emotional relationships can directly and indirectly affect the mental and physical health of women. This survey was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Schema Therapy (ST) on psychological well-being and cognitive ...
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Background: The stability and quality of emotional relationships can directly and indirectly affect the mental and physical health of women. This survey was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Schema Therapy (ST) on psychological well-being and cognitive distortion in single women with Love Trauma Syndrome (LTS).Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental designed by pre-test-post-test with a control group. The statistical population included all single women with LTS visiting counseling centers in Ahvaz, Iran in 2022. The statistical sample consisted of 45 participants who were selected using purposive sampling and were assigned into two experimental groups and one control group via simple random allocation. The first and second experimental groups received ACT (eleven 90-minute sessions per week), and ST (ten 90-minute sessions per week), respectively, while the control group was on the waiting list. The research instruments included the Psychological Well-being (PWB) Scale and the Interpersonal Cognitive Distortion Scale (ICDS). Analysis of covariance in SPSS version 26 was used for data analysis.Results: The results showed that ACT and ST significantly influenced the psychological well-being and cognitive distortion of single women with LTS (P<0.001). The mean and standard deviation (SD) of psychological well-being and cognitive distortion were 60.10±7.76 and 58.87±7.42 in the pretest in the ACT group, whereas it was 70.33±8.16 and 65.80±8.31 in the posttest. Moreover, the mean and SD of psychological well-being and cognitive distortion were 48.00±5.25 and 50.07±4.89 in the pretest in the ST group, whereas it was 39.33±5.16 and 44.00±4.48 in the posttest. ACT had a more significant effect on the psychological well-being and cognitive distortion of participants than ST (P<0.001).Conclusion: In conclusion, ACT was better suited for addressing the psychological well-being and cognitive distortion of single women with LTS. Based on these results and considering the role of ACT and ST, it is possible to help women with LTS enjoy psychological well-being by holding ACT and ST sessions.
Maryam Behroz; Fatemeh Sadat Marashian; Marjan Alizadeh
Abstract
Background: Social compromise is one of the principal components of mental health in head-of-household women. Empowerment and promotion of cognitive emotion regulation are critical in social compromise. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between stress coping strategies and social ...
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Background: Social compromise is one of the principal components of mental health in head-of-household women. Empowerment and promotion of cognitive emotion regulation are critical in social compromise. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between stress coping strategies and social compromise with empowerment through the mediation role of cognitive emotion regulation in head-of-household women.Methods: In this descriptive and correlational study, the statistical population comprises all head-of-household women in Yasuj, Iran in 2021, of whom 258 were selected through convenient sampling. The research instruments included the Psychological Empowerment Scale, the Adjustment Inventory, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the statistical correlation method and structural equation modeling in SPSS and AMOS version 25.Results: The mean and standard deviation of social compromise, problem-focused strategies, emotion-focused strategies, avoidance strategies, adaptive emotion regulation, maladaptive emotion regulation, and empowerment were 14.22±4.60,16.11±4.71, 22.02±5.16, 23.65±4.88, 25.35±10.19, 20.34±8.14, and 39.25±10.84, respectively. The results showed a significant correlation between stress-coping strategies and social compromise with empowerment (P<0.001). Furthermore, the correlation between stress coping strategies and social compromise with empowerment was significant through the mediation of cognitive emotion regulation (P<0.001). The results showed that the final model fit well (CFI=0.99, RMSEA=0.028).Conclusion: The proposed model had a desirable fitting. The head-of-household women who have social compromise when facing problems can deal with the stress caused by problems through sympathy and consulting with others, as well as using stress coping strategies, and as a result of this empowerment, they enjoy sufficient mental health.
Mohammadmorad Khoshakhlagh; Fatemeh Sadat Marashian; Hamdollah Jayervand
Abstract
Background: The mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience extreme stress due to the limited social, communicational, and emotional competencies of their children along with inefficient cognitive development and maladjustment. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness ...
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Background: The mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience extreme stress due to the limited social, communicational, and emotional competencies of their children along with inefficient cognitive development and maladjustment. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy and pivotal response treatment (PRT) in family satisfaction in mothers of children with ASD. Methods: The research method was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design. The study population comprised all mothers of children with autism in Ahvaz, Iran in 2021. Forty-five mothers were selected through convenience sampling and were randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group (each with 15 members). The experimental group underwent positive psychotherapy (fourteen 90-minute sessions) and PRT (twelve 90-minute sessions). However, the control group received no intervention. The data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance. Results: The mean±standard deviation of the post-test scores of family satisfaction in the positive psychotherapy and PRT groups was 33.66±6.98 and 36.26±6.57, which was significantly different from the control group (18.53±4.05). The results suggested that both positive psychotherapy and PRT were effective in increasing family satisfaction in mothers of children with autism (p <0.001). There were no significant differences between the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy and PRT in increasing family satisfaction in mothers of children with autism. Conclusion: It can be concluded that positive psychotherapy and PRT can be adopted to increase the family satisfaction of mothers.