Effectiveness of Couple Therapy Based on Choice Theory in Marital Burnout and Communication Styles of Infertile Couples

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Counseling, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

2 Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran

3 Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Electronic Branch, Iran

Abstract

Background: Infertility as one of the major life crises puts considerable pressure on infertile couples, leading to disrupted quality of marital life, reduced communion, and helplessness.
 
Objective: The current study sought to ascertain the efficacy of couple therapy based on choice theory in marital burnout and infertile couples' communication styles.
 
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pre-test post-test control group design with a follow-up period. The statistical population of the study consisted of all infertile couples referred to counseling and treatment centers in Tehran in 2019. Out of this population, 30 subjects were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups (n=15 in each group). The couple therapy program based on choice theory was performed weekly in the experimental group, while the control group did not receive any intervention. The two groups responded to marital burnout and communication styles questionnaires in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software (version 22) using covariance analysis.
 
Results: Based on the obtained results, couple therapy based on choice theory was effective in disillusionment (P<0.01) and communication styles (P<0.01) of infertile couples.
 
Conclusion: Given the good effect of choice theory-based couple therapy on marital burnout and communication styles of infertile couples, it is advised that these capacities and training be used in the planning of mental health measures, particularly for infertile couples.
 

Keywords

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Razavi International Journal of Medicine
Volume 10, Issue 3
September 2022
Pages 50-55

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