The Effectiveness of Couple Therapy Based on Reality Therapy and Emotion-Focused Therapy on Sexual Intimacy in Betrayed Couples
Keywords:
Reality Therapy-Based Couple Therapy, Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy, Sexual Intimacy, Betrayed CouplesAbstract
The present study aimed to determine the difference in the effectiveness of couple therapy based on reality therapy and emotion-focused therapy on sexual intimacy in betrayed couples across three stages: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. This applied study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test–post-test and a control group. The statistical population included all couples who had experienced marital infidelity and referred to counseling centers in Sari City in 2023. From this population, 64 participants were selected through convenience sampling based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group (22 participants in the reality therapy group, 22 participants in the emotion-focused therapy group, and 20 participants in the control group). Data were collected using the Sexual Intimacy Questionnaire developed by Bagarozi (2001) in three stages: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. During the post-test stage, one couple from the reality therapy group and one couple from the emotion-focused therapy group withdrew, leaving data from 60 participants for analysis. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) via the SPSS-20 statistical software. The results revealed a significant difference between the effectiveness of reality therapy-based couple therapy and emotion-focused couple therapy on sexual intimacy among betrayed couples across the three stages. Both approaches were more effective than the control group; however, emotion-focused couple therapy demonstrated the greatest impact and durability in improving sexual intimacy. Furthermore, significant changes from pre-test to post-test indicated the effectiveness of the interventions, while the sustained changes from post-test to follow-up reflected the relative stability of the results, particularly in the emotion-focused therapy group.
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References
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