Comparison of the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy on self-efficacy of divorced women under the auspices of the imam khomeini relief committee and behzisti organization

Women, after divorce, do not have enough self-efficacy to cope with life's problems and stresses, and literatures show the increase of self-efficacy by acceptance and commitment and dialectical behavior therapy, two important treatments in the third wave, but it is not clear which one is more effective.

The purpose of this study was to determine comparison of the group therapy based on acceptance and commitment and dialectical behavior therapy on self-efficacy in divorced women.

The research method was quasi-experimental. The statistical population included all divorced women in Eghlid in 2019, 24 of whom selected with available sampling and randomly divided into acceptance and commitment therapy group, dialectical behavior therapy group, and the control group. One experimental group received acceptance and commitment therapy intervention (n = 8) and the other group received dialectical behavior therapy intervention (n = 8) in 12 sessions of 90 minutes. Individuals completed the self-efficacy Questionnaire of Sherer, & Adams, (1982) before, after and 2 months after the treatments. Research data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and simple effects of the group by spss-22 software.

The results showed that group therapy based on acceptance and commitment and dialectical behavior therapy increase the self-efficacy of divorced women (P<0.05) but there is no significant difference between the two therapies (P>0.05).

Therefore, it can be concluded that to increase self-efficacy of divorced women both group therapy based on acceptance and commitment and dialectical behavior therapy can be used in psychotherapy sessions.