Journal of Health And Care
Volume 27, Issue 3 (Autumn 2025)
JHC 2025, 27(3): 236-251 |
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Nejati M, Abdolpour B, Dastar Z, Smkhani Akbarinejhad H. Comparing the Effectiveness of Emotion- focused and Compassion-focused Therapies for Couples on Emotional Intimacy and Marital Life Quality in Couples with Spouses with Breast Cancer. JHC 2025; 27 (3) :236-251
URL: http://hcjournal.arums.ac.ir/article-1-1637-en.html
URL: http://hcjournal.arums.ac.ir/article-1-1637-en.html
Department of Psychology, University College of Nabi Akram, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract: (29 Views)
Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among women, which, in addition to physical health, negatively affects the psychological health and marital relationship of women and their spouses. The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of emotion-focused and compassion-focused therapies for couples on emotional intimacy and quality of marital life in couples with spouses with breast cancer.
Methods: This study was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up with a control group design. The statistical population of the study was made up of all women with breast cancer and their spouses who visited Al-Zahra Hospital in Tabriz between April to September 2024. In total, 24 couples were selected according to the inclusion criteria and using the convenience sampling method, and were randomly divided into three groups (each group has 8 couples). Members of the emotion-focused couple therapy and compassion-focused couple therapy groups received their specific intervention in 10 and 8 sessions of 1.5 hours each, respectively. But the control group did not receive any treatment. All three groups completed the intimacy in relationships questionnaire of Schaefer and Olson (1981) and the marital quality of life questionnaire of Zhang et al (2013), before, after, and 4 months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc tests using SPSS-26 software.
Results: According to the results, there was no significant difference in the scores of emotional intimacy and marital life quality between women and men in the intervention and control groups at the post-test. The results showed that emotion-focused couple therapy and compassion-focused couple therapy increased emotional intimacy (p <0.001) and marital quality of life (p <0.001) in couples with a spouse diagnosed with breast cancer compared to the control group. Furthermore, in the follow-up phase, the effect of emotion-focused couple therapy and compassion-focused couple therapy on emotional intimacy and marital quality of life was persistent (p <0.001).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that both emotion-focused couple therapy and compassion-focused couple therapy increased emotional intimacy and quality of marital life in couples with spouses diagnosed with breast cancer. Therefore, mental health professionals are advised to use these two therapeutic approaches to improve the marital status of couples with spouses diagnosed with breast cancer.
Methods: This study was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up with a control group design. The statistical population of the study was made up of all women with breast cancer and their spouses who visited Al-Zahra Hospital in Tabriz between April to September 2024. In total, 24 couples were selected according to the inclusion criteria and using the convenience sampling method, and were randomly divided into three groups (each group has 8 couples). Members of the emotion-focused couple therapy and compassion-focused couple therapy groups received their specific intervention in 10 and 8 sessions of 1.5 hours each, respectively. But the control group did not receive any treatment. All three groups completed the intimacy in relationships questionnaire of Schaefer and Olson (1981) and the marital quality of life questionnaire of Zhang et al (2013), before, after, and 4 months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc tests using SPSS-26 software.
Results: According to the results, there was no significant difference in the scores of emotional intimacy and marital life quality between women and men in the intervention and control groups at the post-test. The results showed that emotion-focused couple therapy and compassion-focused couple therapy increased emotional intimacy (p <0.001) and marital quality of life (p <0.001) in couples with a spouse diagnosed with breast cancer compared to the control group. Furthermore, in the follow-up phase, the effect of emotion-focused couple therapy and compassion-focused couple therapy on emotional intimacy and marital quality of life was persistent (p <0.001).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that both emotion-focused couple therapy and compassion-focused couple therapy increased emotional intimacy and quality of marital life in couples with spouses diagnosed with breast cancer. Therefore, mental health professionals are advised to use these two therapeutic approaches to improve the marital status of couples with spouses diagnosed with breast cancer.
Keywords: Emotion-focused Couple Therapy, Compassion-based Couple Therapy, Emotional Intimacy, Marital Life Quality, Breast Cancer
Type of Study: quasi-experimental |
Subject:
Psychiatric Nursing
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