Psychology of Woman Journal

Objective: The objective of the present study was to explore the lived experience of families with a cancer patient in the context of COVID-19, with an emphasis on the role of women.

Methods and Materials: This qualitative study was conducted using a thematic analysis approach. The participants included 13 family members who were selected through purposive theoretical sampling. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews with participants at Imam Hospital in Bojnord. The data were analyzed using the Corbin and Strauss method.

Findings: Stress resulting from the illness of a family member and the concerns of the family emerged as the contextual factors influencing the study. The primary concern of participants was the stress associated with the illness of their loved one. The main coping strategies adopted by the families to manage the stress included confronting problems, dealing with unpleasant emotions, addressing unresolved needs, seeking hope, battling the challenges of the illness, spiritual engagement, striving for support, normalization, optimal caregiving, and managing the illness. Stress reduction aimed at returning to a normal life emerged as the central category of the study, connecting all other categories.

Conclusion: Families of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic faced significant psychological, social, and economic challenges. Nevertheless, they employed strategies such as maintaining morale, self-reliance, and enhancing spirituality to cope with the crisis. Therefore, the provision of social, financial, and psychological support by the government and relevant institutions—particularly during times of crisis—can help improve these families’ quality of life and reduce their psychological burden.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) in reducing negative meta-emotions and enhancing sexual self-efficacy in women affected by extramarital relationships.

Methods and Materials: The study employed a randomized controlled trial design with pre-test and post-test assessments and no follow-up. A total of 60 married women aged 25–40 years who had experienced psychological distress due to their spouse's extramarital relationship were selected from counseling centers in Tehran. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 30) receiving eight weekly 90-minute sessions of CFT, and a control group (n = 30) receiving no psychological intervention. Data were collected using the Meta-Emotion Scale (MES) and the Sexual Self-Efficacy Scale – Female Functioning (SSES-F). Statistical analyses were conducted using ANCOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests via SPSS-27.

Findings: The ANCOVA results indicated significant differences between the groups in both outcome variables after controlling for pre-test scores. For negative meta-emotions, the intervention group showed a substantial decrease compared to the control group (F(1, 56) = 91.63, p < .001, η² = .611). Similarly, sexual self-efficacy significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the control (F(1, 56) = 68.51, p < .001, η² = .550). These results confirm the efficacy of CFT in improving both emotional and sexual functioning in the target population.

Conclusion: Compassion-Focused Therapy is an effective intervention for reducing negative meta-emotions and enhancing sexual self-efficacy in women experiencing emotional trauma from extramarital betrayal. Integrating compassion-based strategies may be critical in therapeutic programs aimed at post-betrayal recovery.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of group-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on enhancing self-worth and resilience in obese women in Amol, Iran.

Methods and Materials: A quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages was used. Fifty obese women with a BMI between 30 and 39.9 were purposefully selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 25) and a waitlist control group (n = 25). Inclusion criteria included age between 25 and 60, residence in Amol, willingness to participate, and no interfering psychological or situational conditions. The experimental group received 12 weekly sessions of group-based ACT, while the control group received no intervention during the study period. Data were collected using the Self-Worth Questionnaire (SWQ) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) at three time points. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA and MANCOVA with SPSS-24.

Findings: Results showed that ACT had a statistically significant effect on both self-worth (F(1, 46) = 14.31, p < .0001, η² = .222) and resilience (F(1, 46) = 8.85, p < .0001, η² = .146) at the post-test stage compared to the control group. However, at the follow-up stage, differences between the groups were no longer statistically significant for either self-worth (F(1, 46) = 2.97, p = .092) or resilience (F(1, 46) = 0.115, p = .736), indicating that the initial gains were not maintained over time without continued intervention.

Conclusion: Group-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy significantly improved self-worth and resilience in obese women in the short term, though the effects diminished at follow-up. These findings highlight the potential of ACT as an effective psychological intervention for obese women, while underscoring the importance of ongoing support to sustain therapeutic gains.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Short-Term Intensive Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) on locus of control and achievement motivation in divorced depressed women.

Methods and Materials: This research employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest and a control group. The study population included all divorced depressed women who referred to psychological clinics in Qom during the summer of 2024. From this population, 30 individuals were selected using cluster random sampling and randomly assigned to experimental (15 participants) and control (15 participants) groups. The experimental group received five 60-minute sessions of Short-Term Intensive Dynamic Psychotherapy. The control group did not receive any form of treatment. The research instruments included the Locus of Control Questionnaire and the Hermans Achievement Motivation Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) through SPSS version 22.

Findings: The results of the analysis of covariance at a significance level of p < .05 indicated that the variables of locus of control (F = 21.14) and achievement motivation (F = 32.13) showed significant differences between the control and experimental groups.

Conclusion: Based on the findings, Short-Term Intensive Dynamic Psychotherapy appears to be effective in shifting locus of control from external to internal and enhancing achievement motivation among divorced depressed women.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) on cognitive emotion regulation strategies in women with eating disorders, specifically focusing on adaptive and maladaptive emotional responses.
Methods and Materials: This quasi-experimental study utilized a pretest-posttest design with a control group. A total of 30 women aged 20-50, diagnosed with eating disorders, participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (15) and a control group (15). The experimental group received six weekly sessions of MI, while the control group did not receive the intervention. Data were collected using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) to measure nine subcomponents of emotion regulation, including both adaptive and maladaptive strategies. Statistical analysis was performed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) to evaluate the differences between groups.
Findings: The results indicated that the experimental group showed significant improvements in adaptive emotion regulation strategies such as positive reappraisal, acceptance, and perspective-taking, as well as significant reductions in maladaptive strategies including self-blame, rumination, and catastrophizing. These differences between the experimental and control groups were statistically significant (p < 0.01) with moderate to large effect sizes, suggesting that MI effectively enhanced emotional regulation in women with eating disorders.
Conclusion: Thus, by promoting adaptive emotional strategies and reducing maladaptive ones, MI may serve as a valuable therapeutic tool in addressing the emotional dysregulation that often underpins disordered eating behaviors. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects and broader applications of MI in this context.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether fear of abandonment mediates the relationship between attachment trauma and conflict sensitivity in romantic relationships among women.

Methods and Materials: A descriptive correlational design was used, and the study sample consisted of 505 women from Poland, selected based on the Morgan and Krejcie table. Participants completed validated self-report measures assessing attachment trauma, fear of abandonment, and conflict sensitivity. Data were analyzed using SPSS-27 for Pearson correlation and AMOS-21 for Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Assumptions of normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity were tested and confirmed prior to analysis.

Findings: Results from Pearson correlation showed significant positive associations between attachment trauma and fear of abandonment (r = .56, p < .001), attachment trauma and conflict sensitivity (r = .49, p < .001), and fear of abandonment and conflict sensitivity (r = .62, p < .001). SEM analysis revealed that the structural model had an acceptable fit (χ²(46) = 98.35, χ²/df = 2.14, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.047). Attachment trauma significantly predicted fear of abandonment (β = 0.56, p < .001), which in turn significantly predicted conflict sensitivity (β = 0.62, p < .001). The direct path from attachment trauma to conflict sensitivity was also significant (β = 0.24, p < .001), and the indirect effect through fear of abandonment (β = 0.35, p < .001) indicated partial mediation. The total effect of attachment trauma on conflict sensitivity was β = 0.59 (p < .001).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that fear of abandonment partially mediates the relationship between attachment trauma and conflict sensitivity in romantic relationships among women. These results highlight the importance of addressing abandonment-related fears in therapeutic settings to mitigate the emotional impact of past trauma on adult romantic functioning.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine how growth mindset and academic support predict academic motivation among female first-generation university students.

Methods and Materials: A correlational descriptive design was employed with 474 participants recruited from multiple Canadian universities. Each participant self-identified as female and first-generation, reporting on validated questionnaires that measured growth mindset, perceived academic support, and academic motivation. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression in SPSS-27. Descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, were computed for all variables to determine overall trends in the sample. The assumptions for linear regression—linearity, multicollinearity, normality, and homoscedasticity—were confirmed prior to analysis. Ethical approval was obtained, and informed consent was collected from each participant.

Findings: Pearson correlation analyses revealed that both growth mindset (r = .48, p < .01) and academic support (r = .56, p < .01) had significant positive relationships with academic motivation. The multiple linear regression model was statistically significant, F(2, 471) = 138.62, p < .001, explaining 37% of the variance in academic motivation (R² = .37). Growth mindset (β = .29, p < .001) and academic support (β = .38, p < .001) emerged as significant predictors, indicating that higher levels of each factor were associated with greater academic motivation in this sample.

Conclusion: The findings underscore the pivotal role of both cognitive and contextual variables in predicting academic motivation among female first-generation students. Interventions that cultivate growth mindset beliefs and bolster academic support could have a substantial impact on enhancing motivation, ultimately promoting academic persistence and success within this demographic.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the predictive roles of emotion suppression and peer rejection on loneliness in female adolescents.

Methods and Materials: A correlational descriptive design was employed, involving 385 female adolescents recruited from various secondary schools in Tunisia. Participants completed a battery of standardized self-report measures assessing loneliness, emotion suppression, and peer rejection. Stratified random sampling ensured diverse socio-economic representation and adherence to ethical guidelines. Data were analyzed using SPSS-27. Descriptive statistics were generated to summarize participant characteristics and overall scores. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the relationships between loneliness and each predictor. Subsequently, linear regression analysis was performed to determine how emotion suppression and peer rejection simultaneously contributed to loneliness.

Findings: Pearson correlation showed significant positive relationships between loneliness and emotion suppression (r = .41, p < .01), as well as between loneliness and peer rejection (r = .52, p < .01). The two predictors were also significantly related to each other (r = .38, p < .01). Regression analysis indicated that the model was significant (F(2, 382) = 97.46, p < .001), accounting for 34% of the variance in loneliness (R² = .34). Both emotion suppression (β = .29, p < .001) and peer rejection (β = .41, p < .001) uniquely and significantly contributed to loneliness in female adolescents.

Conclusion: Findings highlight that both emotion regulation patterns and social experiences play crucial roles in adolescent loneliness. Adolescents who suppress their emotions or encounter persistent peer rejection appear at a higher risk for feeling isolated. Identifying and addressing these two predictors may be integral to developing targeted interventions aimed at reducing loneliness and promoting emotional well-being among female adolescents in culturally diverse settings.