ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Original Research

Authors

Pirani   Z. (*)
Abbasi   M. (1)
Kalvani   M. (1)
Nourbakhsh   P. (2)






(*) Psychology Department, Human Science Faculty, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
(1) Psychology Department, Literature & Human Science Faculty, Salman Farsi University of Kazerun, Kazerun , Iran
(2) Psychology Department, Human Science Faculty, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

Correspondence

Address: Islamic Azad University, Amir Kabir University Town, Kilometer 3 of Khomein Road, Imam Khomeini Square, Arak, Iran
Phone: +98 (45) 32721517
Fax: +98 (721) 2229080
zabih_pirani@yahoo.com

Article History

Received:   October  27, 2016
Accepted:   December 12, 2016
ePublished:   March 10, 2017

ABSTRACT

Aims Due to many marital psychological problems and many stressful mental conditions, the quality of life of the veterans’ spouses decreases. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on the sexual self-esteem, alexithymia, and marital adjustment in the veterans’ spouses.
Materials & Methods In the controlled pretest-posttest semi-experimental applied study, 40 veterans’ spouses of Arak were studied in 2015. The subjects, selected via available sampling method, were randomly divided into two groups including experimental and control groups (n=20 persons per group). Data was collected using women’s sexual self-esteem index (SSEL-W-SF), Locke-Wallace marital adjustment, and Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20). Ten ACT sessions were conducted in experimental group, while control group received no intervention. Pretest and posttest were conducted in both groups. Data was analyzed by SPSS 23 software using descriptive statistics and one-variable covariance analysis test.
Findings After the intervention, the mean scores of sexual self-esteem and marital adjustment significantly increased, while the mean score of alexithymia significantly decreased in experimental group compared to control group (p<0.001).
Conclusion The ACT increases sexual self-esteem and marital adjustment, while reduces the alexithymia in the veterans’ spouses.


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