Effectiveness of Group Narrative Therapy on Hope, Marital Forgiveness, and Marital Intimacy in Women Affected by Marital Infidelity

Mona Aghababaei; Zekrollah Morovati; Jafar Houshyari

Authors

Mona Aghababaei Department of Management, Sav.C. Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran. Author https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4888-4540
Zekrollah Morovati Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1216-462X
Jafar Houshyari Department of Psychology, Higher Education Complex of Humanities, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran; Affiliated Faculty Member, Islamic Azad University, Qom Branch, Qom, Iran. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3397-515X

Keywords:

Group narrative therapy, Hope, Marital forgiveness, Marital infidelity, Marital intimacy, Women

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of group narrative therapy in improving hope, marital forgiveness, and marital intimacy among women affected by marital infidelity.

Methods and Materials: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest control-group design with a three-month follow-up. Participants were 30 women affected by marital infidelity who attended counseling centers in District 5 of Tehran, Iran, in 2025. Participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to a group narrative therapy condition (n = 15) or a control condition (n = 15). The intervention consisted of ten weekly 90-minute group narrative therapy sessions based on the narrative approach of White and Epston. Data were collected using the Miller Hope Scale, Marital Offence-Specific Forgiveness Scale, and Marital Intimacy Needs Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analyses and Bonferroni-adjusted comparisons.

Findings: Group narrative therapy significantly improved all primary outcomes compared with the control condition. Significant between-group differences were observed for hope (mean difference = 8.48, p = .001), total marital forgiveness (mean difference = 9.40, p = .001), and total marital intimacy (mean difference = 19.60, p = .001). Improvements were also evident across the dimensions of marital forgiveness and marital intimacy. The pattern of follow-up scores indicated that treatment gains were largely maintained three months after the intervention.

Conclusion: Group narrative therapy appears to be an effective intervention for enhancing hope, marital forgiveness, and marital intimacy among women affected by marital infidelity. The intervention may facilitate both psychological and relational recovery by promoting meaning reconstruction, personal agency, and alternative narratives following betrayal.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bagarozzi, D. A. (2001). Enhancing Intimacy in Marriage: A Clinician's Guide. Brunner-Routledge.

Ekinci, N., & Tokkaş, B. G. (2024). A Systematic Review of Narrative Therapy. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar–Current Approaches in Psychiatry, 16(1), 58-71. https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.1256695

Fife, S. T., Theobald, A. C., Gossner, J. D., Yakum, B. N., & White, K. L. (2022). Individual Healing from Infidelity and Breakup for Emerging Adults: A Grounded Theory. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(6), 1814-1838. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211067441

Fitness, J. (2012). Betrayal and Forgiveness in Couple Relationships. In (pp. 259-270). Wiley-Blackwell.

Frank, A. W. (2018). What Is Narrative Therapy and How Can It Help Health Humanities? Journal of Medical Humanities, 39(4), 553-563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-018-9507-3

Freedman, J., & Combs, G. (2024). Narrative Couple Therapy. In (pp. 245-268). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003369097-12

Ghavibazou, E., Hosseinian, S., & Abdollahi, A. (2020). Effectiveness of Narrative Therapy on Communication Patterns for Women Experiencing Low Marital Satisfaction. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 41(2), 195-207. https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1405

Ghavibazou, E., Hosseinian, S., Abdollahi, A., & Ghamari Kivi, H. (2022). Effectiveness of Narrative Therapy on Adult Attachment Styles and Expressivity in Women Experiencing Low Marital Satisfaction. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 22(4), 853-860. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12493

Hollenbeck, C. M., & Steffens, B. (2024). Betrayal Trauma Anger: Clinical Implications for Therapeutic Treatment Based on the Sexually Betrayed Partner's Experience Related to Anger after Intimate Betrayal. Journal of sex & marital therapy, 50(4), 456-467. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2024.2306940

Irvine, T. J., Peluso, P. R., Benson, K., Cole, C., Cole, D., Gottman, J. M., & Schwartz Gottman, J. (2024). A Pilot Study Examining the Effectiveness of Gottman Method Couples Therapy over Treatment-as-Usual Approaches for Treating Couples Dealing with Infidelity. The Family Journal, 32(1), 81-94. https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807231210123

Jackl, J. A., & Taylor, H. M. (2020). "I Would Never Want to Go through That Pain Again, but I Wouldn't Trade the Marriage We Have Now for Anything": Narrative Meaning-Making in Tales of Marital Infidelity. Kentucky Journal of Communication, 39(1), 4-21.

Kaleta, K., & Jaśkiewicz, A. (2024). Forgiveness in Marriage: From Incidents to Marital Satisfaction. Journal of Family Issues, 45(7), 1764-1788. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X231194294

Karris, M. A., & Arger, K. A. (2019). Religious Couples Re-Storying after Infidelity: Using Narrative Therapy Interventions with a Focus on Attachment. Counseling and Family Therapy Scholarship Review, 2(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.53309/JCDM6423

Koganei, K., Asaoka, Y., Nishimatsu, Y., & Kito, S. (2021). Women's Psychological Experiences in a Narrative Therapy-Based Group: An Analysis of Participants' Writings and Beck Depression Inventory–Second Edition. Japanese Psychological Research, 63(4), 466-475. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpr.12326

Lafontaine, M. F., Bolduc, R., Lonergan, M., Clement, L. M., Brassard, A., Bureau, J. F., Godbout, N., & Péloquin, K. (2023). Attachment Injury Severity, Injury-Related Stress, Forgiveness, and Sexual Satisfaction in Injured Adult Partners. The Journal of Sex Research, 60(8), 1138-1147. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2022.2086677

Mellado, A., del Río, M. T., Andreucci-Annunziata, P., & Molina, M. E. (2024). Psychotherapy Focusing on Dialogical and Narrative Perspectives: A Systematic Review from Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Studies. Frontiers in psychology, 15, 1308131. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1308131

Naghsh, Z. (2024). Prediction of Marital Satisfaction Based on Happiness, Hope, Spiritual Intelligence and Interpersonal Forgiveness in Couples. International Journal of Medical Investigation, 13(3), 88-98.

Nelson, K., Lukawiecki, J., Waitschies, K., Jackson, E., & Zivot, C. (2024). Exploring the Impacts of an Art and Narrative Therapy Program on Participants' Grief and Bereavement Experiences. OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying, 90(2), 726-745. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228221111726

Nezamalmolki, M., Bahrainian, S. A., & Shahabizadeh, F. (2023). Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy on Sexual Function, Marital Intimacy, and Impulsivity in Women Affected by Marital Infidelity. Psychology of Woman Journal, 4(4), 39-47. https://doi.org/10.61838/kman.pwj.4.4.5

Paleari, F. G., Regalia, C., & Fincham, F. D. (2009). Measuring Offence-Specific Forgiveness in Marriage: The Marital Offence-Specific Forgiveness Scale (MOFS). Psychological assessment, 21(2), 194-209. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016068

Palmwood, E. N., & Simons, R. F. (2024). Feel the Pain: Ability to Up-Regulate Emotion Facilitates Forgiveness of Betrayal. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 43(4), 303-321. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2024.43.4.303

Park, J. W., & Kim, H. S. (2023). The Effects of Group Counseling Utilizing Narrative Therapy on Self-Esteem, Stress Response, and Insight for Individuals with Alcohol Dependency. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 18(2), 219-248. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2021.1972885

Smith, M. L., Nordfelt, R., Daley, J., & D'Aniello, C. (2024). Not Just Semantics: A Synthesis of Narrative Therapy and Linguistic Relativity as Applied to Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Clients. Contemporary Family Therapy, 46(1), 100-111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-023-09670-z

Sun, L., Liu, X., Weng, X., Deng, H., Li, Q., Liu, J., & Luan, X. (2022). Narrative Therapy to Relieve Stigma in Oral Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial. İnternational journal of nursing practice, 28(4), e12926. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12926

White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends. W. W. Norton & Company.

Worthington, E. L., Jr. (2024). REACH Forgiveness: A Narrative Analysis of Group Effectiveness. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 74(3), 330-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2024.2340593

Zhong, L., & Vangelisti, A. L. (2025). Conceptualizing Injured Partners' Relational Uncertainty Following Marital Infidelity: A Relational Turbulence Theory Perspective. Journal of Family Communication, 25(1), 57-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2024.2433206