extramarital relationships

The purpose of this study was the effectiveness of couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment on love schemas and emotional schemas in couples with extramarital relationships with a two-month follow-up period. In this research, a single case semi-experimental design of multiple baseline type was used. The statistical population of this research included all couples with experience of extramarital relations who referred to the family courts and prevention unit of Dezful city welfare department in 2021-22. After the diagnostic interview and specifying the couples who met the entry criteria, 4 couples (8 persons) were selected based on purposive sampling. The protocol of the couples therapy method was implemented in the form of three baseline stages and 8 90-minute sessions and a two-month follow-up. The participants responded to Yarmohammadi Vasil et al.'s Love Schema Questionnaire (2019) and Leahy Emotional Schema Scale (LES). The data were analyzed by visual drawing method, stable change index and recovery percentage formula. The results showed that couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment increased adaptive emotional schemas and decreased maladaptive emotional schemas of couples with extramarital relationships (p<0.05). Couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment has a significant effect on secure love schema, unstable love schema, clingy love schema, avoidant love schema, and non-serious love schema (p<0.05) and its results continued until the follow-up stage. Therefore, couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment as a stable intervention to increase love schemas and emotional schemas can be used in health and treatment centers in couples with extramarital relationships.

Objective: The current study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) on intimacy, marital adjustment, and forgiveness among couples with a history of extramarital affairs. Methods: The research design was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group. The study population included all women in Tehran who were affected by their husbands' extramarital relationships in 2022. A sample of 30 women affected by such relationships and visiting counseling centers in District 2 of Tehran was selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group in equal numbers. The research instruments included the Thompson and Walker (1983) Intimacy Scale, the Spanier (1976) Marital Adjustment Questionnaire, and the Rye et al. (2001) Forgiveness Questionnaire. The experimental group received EFCT in eight 60-minute sessions over a month; the control group was placed on a waiting list. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance with the aid of SPSS version 23 software. Findings: The findings indicated that EFCT significantly improved intimacy (p < 0.01), marital adjustment (p < 0.01), and marital forgiveness (p < 0.01). Conclusion: It can be concluded that Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy effectively enhances intimacy, adjustment, and forgiveness in couples with a history of extramarital affairs.

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the efficacy of acceptance-based therapy in enhancing intimacy and marital forgiveness and reducing marital burnout in women affected by extramarital relationships. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest and follow-up design, including a control group. The population consisted of all women affected by their husband's extramarital relationships who attended specialized family counseling centers in District 6 of Mashhad. From this group, 30 participants were selected through purposive sampling based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were collected using the Rey et al. (2001) Marital Forgiveness Scale, the Pines (1996) Marital Burnout Scale, and the Thompson and Walker (1983) Marital Intimacy Scale. Participants were then randomly assigned into three experimental groups and one control group, each consisting of 15 individuals. Data analysis was conducted using repeated measures analysis of variance with the Statistical Software Package SPSS-20. Findings: The findings indicated that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in improving intimacy, marital forgiveness, and reducing marital burnout in women affected by extramarital relationships (P < 0.01). The results were also sustained at the follow-up stage. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in enhancing intimacy, forgiveness, and reducing marital burnout among women impacted by extramarital relationships, and this therapeutic approach can be utilized to address psychological issues in couples affected by extramarital relationships.

Objective: The present study aimed to explain attitudes toward extramarital relationships based on personality dimensions and sexual schemas, with the mediating role of sexual novelty-seeking. Methods: This research employed a descriptive-correlational design. The statistical population included all couples who referred to psychological counseling centers and family courts in Tehran in 2021. The sample size was determined as 674 individuals based on Morgan's table and selected using a convenience sampling method considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. Individuals with anxiety or mood disorders were excluded from the study. Research instruments included the Attitudes Toward Extramarital Relationships Questionnaire by Mark (2006), the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (2004), the Questionnaire of Cognitive Schema Activation in Sexual Contexts (QCSASC), and the Glass and Wright Justification for Extramarital Relationships Questionnaire (1992). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and path analysis with LISREL software version 10.20. Findings: Results indicated that 30.7% of the variance in attitudes toward extramarital relationships was indirectly explained by personality dimensions and sexual schemas, with the mediating role of sexual novelty-seeking. Based on the findings, attitudes toward extramarital relationships were positively and significantly predicted by neuroticism (path coefficient = 0.25), openness to experience (path coefficient = 0.84), sexual schemas (path coefficient = 0.27), and sexual novelty-seeking (path coefficient = 0.16). Conclusion: The findings revealed that attitudes toward extramarital relationships were negatively and significantly predicted by agreeableness (path coefficient = -0.38) and conscientiousness (path coefficient = -0.33). Thus, personality traits and sexual schemas predict extramarital relationships and sexual novelty-seeking.