Comparing the efficacy of short-term solution-oriented treatment and acceptance and commitment-based treatment on sexual intimacy and marital instability of addicted men's wives

Addiction can have negative impacts on various aspects of life. One of the most affected groups by addiction are the spouses of addicted individuals. These women often face multiple challenges and difficulties in coping with their husbands' addiction, such as sexual intimacy, and marital instability. Therefore, it is important to provide effective psychological interventions for these women to improve their well-being and quality of life. Both treatments have been shown to be effective for various psychological problems. However, there is a lack of research on the comparative effectiveness of these treatments for the specific problems faced by the wives of addicted men, such as sexual intimacy and marital instability.

The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy and short-term solution-oriented therapy on sexual intimacy and reducing marital instability of addicted men's wives.

The present study was a semi-experimental type of pre-test and post-test with a control group. The statistical population of the present study was formed by all the wives of addicted men in Azadshahr city in the spring of 2022. The sample was selected by the purposeful available sampling method after meeting the conditions for entering the research. Two experimental groups received treatment intervention in 8 sessions of 90 minutes, and the control group remained on the waiting list. Acceptance and commitment therapy sessions were conducted based on the method (Eifert & Eifert, 2019) and short-term solution-oriented therapy sessions were conducted based on the Noamian and colleagues package (2015). In this research, Bagarozi's Marital Intimacy Needs Questionnaire (2001) and Marital Instability Index (1987) were implemented in three time periods.

Compared to the control group, the two-method treatment increased sexual intimacy and decreased the marital instability of addicted men's wives (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy and short-term solution-oriented therapy on the sexual intimacy of addicted men's wives (P<0.05).

According to the results of the implementation of two treatment methods that have a significant effect on increasing sexual intimacy and reducing marital instability, psychologists and therapists are expected to provide appropriate treatment for the wives of addicted men and guarantee their quality of life.