An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Emotionally-Focused Couple’s Group Therapy (EFCT) on Relational Aggression of Couples with Breast Cancer in Wives: A Semi-Experimental Study

Because of the nature of cancer and related hormonal changes, as well as the conditions resulting from stress tolerance, relational problems and aggression are major problems facing couples with breast cancer in wives. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of emotionally focused couples therapy (EFCT) on relational aggression in couples with breast cancer in wives.

This study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. Twenty-two couples meeting the inclusion criteria were selected by convenience sampling from among people with breast cancer living in Tehran and randomly assigned to the experimental and control group. The experimental group received a 6-session (120 minutes per session) intervention of an adapted version of emotionally focused group therapy for couples (HMT). This intervention was meant to improve the psychological and relational indicators related to the quality of life of couples where the female partner was diagnosed with, or had a recurrence of, breast cancer and was in active treatment process or had gone through the treatments. The control group did not receive any intervention. Both groups answered the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (29-item instrument to measure physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility) before and after the intervention. Analysis of covariance was used to evaluate the effect of treatment.

The experimental group demonstrated a decline in the mean of all factors after receiving the training program, as compared to the control group. The decrease was 11.01 points for physical aggression, 5.78 for verbal aggression, 8.37 for anger, and 10.95 for hostility. In contrast, the control group had a decrease of 0.41 points in anger and 0.17 points in hostility factors. The control group also displayed an increase of 0.06 points in the mean scores on both physical and verbal aggression components. Analysis of covariance revealed that EFCT had a significant decreasing effect on all the components of aggression in the experimental group as compared to the control group (P < 0.01).

Through the education of correct mutual emotional understanding for couples and creating an atmosphere of trust and communication between them, EFCT intervention provides a ground for increasing marital satisfaction and reducing aggression in couples coping with breast cancer in wives. Accordingly, the intervention can be used to improve the quality of marital relations.