The Effects of a Behavioral-Communication Group Therapy Intervention on Marital Happiness and Positive Self-talk in Women Experiencing Marital Burnout

This study examined the effectiveness of a behavioralcommunication group therapy intervention on marital happiness and positive self-talk in women experiencing marital burnout.

The research design drew on a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group. The population consisted of all women referred to counseling centers in Tabriz. After the screening procedures, 24 participants were selected through the purposive non-random sampling method and were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The participants in the experimental group underwent eight 90-minute-sessions of the behavioral-communication group therapy intervention and the participants in the control group received no treatment. The instruments used in this study included the Couple Burnout Measure, Marital Happiness Scale and Self-Talk Inventory. One way analysis of covariance and multivariate analysis of covariance were used for data analysis in the current research.

The results showed that marital happiness and positive self-talk in women experiencing marital burnout were significantly increased in the experimental group (p<0/05).

The results also suggest that the behavioralcommunication group therapy intervention could be employed by psychologists and counselors as a therapeutic intervention to improve marital happiness and positive self-talk in women experiencing marital burnout.