Comparison of the Effectiveness of Couple Therapy based on Self-Regulated and Acceptance and Commitment on Destructive Marriage Habits of Married Women Referring to Consulting Centers in the City of Bushehr

The rising divorce rate in Iranian society is a clear sign of the turmoil in marital life in Iranian families; thus, effective interventions to control this turmoil are essential. Therefore, this study compares the effectiveness of self-regulated- and acceptance and commitment-based couple therapies on destructive marriage habits of married women. The present study was a quasi-experimental of pre-test, post-test, and two-month follow-up. All married women referring to counseling and psychotherapy centers in Bushehr in 2019-220 formed the statistical population of the study, of whom, by available sampling, 60 were selected and randomly assigned to three equal groups. Therapeutic interventions were applied to the experimental groups in 8 sessions (2 sessions of 90 minutes per week), while the control group did not receive any intervention. The Quality of Marital Relationships Scale (Mohammadi & Pirkhaefi, 2015) was used to collect data. Data were analyzed by using analysis of variance with repeated measures. The results showed that the changes in the destructive marriage habits and their dimensions (criticizing, nagging, blaming, threatening, rewarding to control/bribing, punishing, complaining) in both experimental groups were significant compared to the control group in the post-test and follow-up phases, and both treatment methods reduced the destructive marriage habits in the women (p<0.05). Also, the comparison of the two treatment methods showed that couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment worked more beneficially than that based on self-regulated (p<0.05). Self-regulated- and acceptance and commitment-based couple therapy may be used by family and couple counselors as an effective, inexpensive, and easy method to administer interventions to increase the quality of the marital relationship.