The Effectiveness of an Integrated Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Compassion-Focused Therapy Intervention on Resilience and Anger Control in Women with Marital Conflict
Keywords:
Resilience, marital conflict, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy, anger controlAbstract
Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an integrated intervention based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) on resilience and anger control among women experiencing marital conflict.
Methods and Materials: The present study employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest–posttest measurements and a control group. The statistical population consisted of married women experiencing marital conflict in the city of Behbahan. Using convenience sampling and based on predetermined inclusion criteria, 60 participants were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30). The experimental group received an integrated intervention combining Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Compassion-Focused Therapy in ten 2-hour weekly sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Marital Conflict Questionnaire developed by Sanaei, Barati, and Bustani, the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Spielberger State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2). Data analysis was conducted using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS version 21.
Findings: The results of Multivariate Analysis of Covariance indicated a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in at least one of the dependent variables (F = 13.87, p < 0.0001). The findings further demonstrated that the integrated intervention significantly increased resilience among women with marital conflict (F = 24.13, p < 0.0001). In addition, the intervention significantly improved anger control in the experimental group compared with the control group (F = 90.34, p < 0.0001). The reported effect sizes indicated substantial intervention effectiveness for both resilience and anger control outcomes.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that integrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Compassion-Focused Therapy is effective in enhancing resilience and improving anger control among women experiencing marital conflict. The intervention appears to strengthen psychological flexibility, emotional regulation, self-compassion, and adaptive coping capacities, thereby reducing maladaptive emotional reactions associated with marital distress. This integrated therapeutic approach may therefore serve as an effective psychological intervention for women facing relational and emotional difficulties within marital relationships.
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