Comparing the Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Cognitive Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Interpersonal Forgiveness in Women Affected by Marital Infidelity
Keywords:
Emotion-Focused Cognitive Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Interpersonal Forgiveness, Marital Infidelity, WomenAbstract
The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of emotion-focused cognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on interpersonal forgiveness in women affected by marital infidelity. This applied semi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest design with a three-month follow-up and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all women affected by marital infidelity who referred to specialized family counseling centers in Chalous, Iran, during 2025. Forty-five participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned into three groups: emotion-focused cognitive therapy (n=15), acceptance and commitment therapy (n=15), and control group (n=15). The first experimental group received ten 90-minute sessions of emotion-focused cognitive therapy based on Power’s protocol, while the second experimental group participated in ten 90-minute sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy based on the McKay and Lev protocol. The control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Family Forgiveness Scale developed by Pollard et al. (1998). Inferential statistics included multivariate analysis of covariance and repeated-measures analysis of variance using SPSS-22 software. The findings demonstrated that both emotion-focused cognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy significantly increased interpersonal forgiveness in comparison with the control group (p<0.01). The results of multivariate covariance analysis indicated a significant group effect on posttest interpersonal forgiveness scores with a large effect size. Bonferroni post hoc comparisons revealed that the mean scores of interpersonal forgiveness in both intervention groups were significantly higher than those of the control group at posttest and follow-up stages. Furthermore, emotion-focused cognitive therapy showed greater effectiveness than acceptance and commitment therapy in improving interpersonal forgiveness among women affected by marital infidelity. The stability of treatment effects during the follow-up stage confirmed the persistence of therapeutic outcomes over time. The results suggest that both emotion-focused cognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy are effective interventions for improving interpersonal forgiveness in women affected by marital infidelity. However, emotion-focused cognitive therapy demonstrated superior effectiveness, likely due to its deeper emphasis on emotional processing, emotional awareness, and restructuring maladaptive emotional experiences. Therefore, therapists and family counselors may benefit from incorporating these approaches, particularly emotion-focused cognitive therapy, into psychological interventions designed for women experiencing emotional distress following marital infidelity.
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