Comparing the Effectiveness of a Sexual Intelligence Educational–Counseling Package and Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy on Sexual Relationships Among Women Experiencing Marital Conflict

Zahra  Jalali Asil; Seyed Hamid Atashpour; Hadi  Farhadi

Authors

Zahra Jalali Asil Department of Counceling, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran. Author https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6406-9536
Seyed Hamid Atashpour Department of Psychology, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran. Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7979-609X
Hadi Farhadi Department of Psychology, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0241-4309

Keywords:

sexual intelligence, Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy, sexual relationship, marital conflict, married woman

Abstract

Objective: Marital conflict can reduce emotional intimacy and the quality of sexual relationships. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of a sexual intelligence educational–counseling package and Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) in improving sexual relationships among women experiencing marital conflict.

Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental three-group pretest–posttest design with a two-month follow-up. A total of 54 married women experiencing marital conflict who sought services at counseling centers in Shahrekord were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups: sexual intelligence education–counseling, Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy, and control (18 participants per group). The two intervention groups received 10 weekly two-hour intervention sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Sexual Relations subscale of the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness (HISA; Hurlbert, 1992) and analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS version 23.

Findings: The results of the repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that the main effect of time (p < .001), the time × group interaction effect (p = .048), and the between-group effect (p = .041) were statistically significant for sexual relationships. The Bonferroni post hoc test further showed that a statistically significant difference existed only between the sexual intelligence education–counseling group and the control group. In contrast, the difference between the Emotionally Focused Therapy group and the control group, as well as the difference between the two intervention groups, was not statistically significant (p > .05).

Conclusion: The sexual intelligence educational–counseling package significantly improved sexual relationships among women experiencing marital conflict, whereas Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy did not produce a statistically significant effect. The implementation of the sexual intelligence educational–counseling package in family counseling centers is recommended as an intervention for improving the quality of couples’ sexual relationships.

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