Comparison of the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment–Based Couple Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy on Emotion Regulation in Couples with Marital Burnout
Keywords:
couple therapy, acceptance and commitment, cognitive-behavioral, emotion regulation, marital burnoutAbstract
The present study was conducted to determine the difference in the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment–Based Couple Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy on emotion regulation in couples experiencing marital burnout. The research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest structure and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all couples aged 20–40 years who sought counseling and psychotherapy services with complaints of marital burnout at counseling and psychological treatment centers across Tehran in 2023. A purposive sampling method was used to select the participants. Forty-five couples were selected through purposive sampling and were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group (15 couples each group). After completing the research procedures and based on the exclusion criteria, one couple from the Acceptance and Commitment–Based Couple Therapy group was removed, and the data of 14 couples were analyzed. In addition, one couple from the Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy group was excluded due to absence from more than two sessions, and the data of 14 couples were analyzed, while all 15 couples in the control group participated in all stages. Data analysis was performed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. The results indicated that the difference between the effects of the two couple-therapy approaches—Acceptance and Commitment–Based Couple Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy—on the emotion-regulation strategies of reappraisal (p = .036) and suppression (p = .045) was statistically significant. Acceptance and Commitment–Based Couple Therapy, compared with Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy, resulted in increased use of the reappraisal strategy and decreased use of the suppression strategy in emotion regulation.
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