The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Compassion-Focused Therapy on Hardiness of Women on the Verge of Divorce

Subject Areas : women health

Maryam Ghahramani ¹ , Javad Khalatbari ^{2 *} , Davoud Taghvaei ³

1 - PhD student in general psychology, Arak branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran.
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Tonkabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonkabon, Iran (corresponding author), [e-mail] Tel: [phone]
3 - Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

Received: 2022-02-05 Accepted : 2022-07-09 Published : 2023-04-08

Keywords: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy, women’s hardiness,

Abstract :

© 2020 The Author(s). This work is published by family and health as an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract: Introduction: Women lacking the hardiness trait experience lower quality of life. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and compassion-focused therapy (CFT) on hardiness of women on the verge of divorce. Research Method: The present study employed a pre-test-post-test intervention with a three-month follow-up, including a control group, conducted in 2021. The sample consisted of women on the verge of divorce referred to social emergency centers in Tehran. Forty-five women were divided into two experimental groups and one control group using purposive and random sampling. Group sessions of compassion-focused therapy, based on the therapeutic protocol by Gilbert & Neff, and cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions, based on the treatment design by Wildermuth, were conducted over eight 90-minute sessions. The control group received no therapy. The research tool was the Kobasa Hardiness Questionnaire. Results were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Findings: The mean and standard deviation of hardiness scores in the pre-test for compassion-focused therapy decreased from 1.64 ± 51.53 to 1.86 ± 59.20 in the post-test and to 1.86 ± 61.20 in the follow-up (P < 0.01). Hardiness scores in the pre-test for cognitive-behavioral therapy decreased from 2.007 ± 50.80 to 1.23 ± 56.67 in the post-test and to 1.23 ± 58.67 in the follow-up (P < 0.01). Additionally, the control group's hardiness scores decreased from 1.242 ± 49.40 in the pre-test to 1.24 ± 50.40 in the post-test and to 1.3 ± 51.47 in the follow-up (P < 0.01). Conclusion: According to the research findings, both cognitive-behavioral therapy and compassion-focused therapy can be effective in increasing hardiness in women on the verge of divorce. Furthermore, the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy is more enduring compared to cognitive-behavioral therapy.

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