The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Marital Conflict and Quality of Life in Veterans of the Iran-Iraq War

Shahhosseini Tazik, Saeid; Haghighimanesh, Hamid; Hojjatpanah Montazeri, Alaleh; Arghabaei, Mohammad; Allahyari, Somayyeh

doi:10.22034/jmp.2023.406001.1064

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

¹ PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology, Clinical Psychology Department, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

² Master of Science, Psychology, Payam-e Noor University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³ Master of Science, Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Torbat Jam Branch, Torbat Jam, Iran

⁴ PhD in Counseling, Counseling, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd Branch, Bojnourd, Iran

⁵ M. A. Student in Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Qaenat Branch, Qaenat, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/jmp.2023.406001.1064

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on marital conflict and quality of life in veterans of the Iran-Iraq war. The research was a quasi-experimental design using pre-test and post-test with a control group. The statistical population of this study included all veterans who referred to the counseling center of the Foundation of Martyrs in Mashhad in 2022. Using purposive sampling based on the initial questionnaire scores, 30 individuals were selected and randomly assigned to two groups of 15 participants, experimental and control. Kansas Marital Conflict Scale (KMCS) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO-QOL-BREF) questionnaire were used to measure marital conflict and quality of life, respectively. One-way and multivariate analysis of covariance tests were used for data analysis. The results showed that ACT was effective in reducing marital conflict (P=0.001, F=15.993) and improving quality of life (P=0.001, F=67.934) in the research sample. These findings suggest that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can be used to reduce marital conflicts and improve the quality of life of veterans in clinical settings.

Keywords

20.1001.1.27834433.2022.2.3.5.1

Main Subjects

Social Psychology

References

Afzalur Rahim, M., Buntzman, G. F., & White, D. (1999). An empirical study of the stages of moral development and conflict management styles. International Journal of Conflict Management, 10(2), 154-171. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb022822

Azimi, L & Bajlan, A. (2014). Quality of life studies. Arak: Nevisandeh Publications.

Brown, F. L., Whittingham, K., Boyd, R. N., McKinlay, L., & Sofronoff, K. (2015). Does Stepping Stones Triple P plus Acceptance and Commitment Therapy improve parent, couple, and family adjustment following paediatric acquired brain injury? A randomised controlled trial. Behaviour research and therapy, 73, 58-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2015.07.001

Dattilio, F. (2019). Cognitive-behavioral therapy with couples and families. (Translated by Amir Hossam Khajeh, Parinaz Sajjadian and Fatemeh Bahrami). Tehran: Arjamand Publication. (Original work published in 2012)

Eggeman, K., Moxley, V., & Schumm, W. R. (1985). Assessing spouses' perceptions of Gottman's temporal form in marital conflict. Psychological Reports, 57(1), 171–181. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1985.57.1.171

Feeney, J. A., & Karantzas, G. C. (2017). Couple conflict: insights from an attachment perspective. Current opinion in psychology, 13, 60-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.04.017

Ghare baglo, A., Ahangar, A. (2022). The Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on the Quality of Life and Sexual Performance in Female Nurses. Journal of Nursing Education, 11 (4), 47-56. http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22034/JNE.11.4.47

Gaudiano, B. A., Herbert, J. D., & Hayes, S. C. (2010). Is it the symptom or the relation to it? Investigating potential mediators of change in acceptance and commitment therapy for psychosis. Behavior therapy, 41(4), 543-554.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2010.03.001

Harris, R. (2018). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (act in plain language). (Translated by Anoushe Aminzadeh).. Arjmand Publications. (Original work published in 2012)

Hayes, S. C. (2019). Acceptance and commitment therapy: towards a unified model of behavior change. World psychiatry, 18(2), 226.‏ https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20626

Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy (Vol. 6). New York: Guilford press.‏.‏

Hosseininasab, S. D., Badri, R., Ghaemian Oskouei, A. (2010). The Relationship between the Personality Characteristics as well as Styles of Resolving Interpersonal Conflict and the Marital Adaptation of Married Students in Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch. Educational Administration Research, 1(2), 57-78. https://jearq.riau.ac.ir/article_427.html?lang=en

Javdan, M., Samawi, A, & Farshad, M. (2018). Correlation between Couples Mutuality Afflicted to Conflict with Marital Satisfaction and the Mediating Role of Life Quality. Journal of Health Promotion Management, 7(5 ), 54-62. http://jhpm.ir/article-1-943-en.html

Kyeong, S., Eom, H., Kim, M. K., Jung, Y. H., Park, S., & Kim, J. J. (2019). Neural basis of romantic partners’ decisions about participation in leisure activity. Scientific reports, 9(1), 14448.‏ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51038-7

Lamar, S., Wiatrowski, S, Lewis D. (2014). Acceptance & Commitment Therapy: An Overview of Techniques and Applications. Journal of Service Science and Management, 7 (3), 103-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2014.73019

Levin, M. E., Haeger, J., Pierce, B., & Cruz, R. A. (2017). Evaluating an adjunctive mobile app to enhance psychological flexibility in acceptance and commitment therapy. Behavior Modification, 41(6), 846-867. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445517719661‏

Lin, C.-Y., Lee, T.-Y., Sun, Z.-J., Yang, Y.-C., Wu, J.-S., & Ou, H.-T. (2017). Development of diabetes-specific quality of life module to be in conjunction with the World Health Organization quality of life scale brief version (WHOQOL-BREF). Health and quality of life outcomes, 15(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-017-0744-3

Maazinezhad, M., Arefi, M., & Amiri, H. (2021). Comparison of the Effectiveness of Couple Training Based on Approach Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) and Imago therapy on Couple Conflict Management. Quarterly of Counseling Culture and Psychotherapy, 12(45), 163-186. https://doi.org/10.22054/qccpc.2020.50013.2320

Mahmoudpour, A., Dehghanpour, S., Yoosefi, N., & Ejade, S. (2020). Predicting Women's Marital Intimacy Based on Mindfulness, Conflict Resolution Patterns, Perceived Social Support, and Social Well-being. Social Psychology Research, 10(39), 83-102. https://doi.org/10.22034/spr.2020.228592.1463

Mohammadi, Z., Borjali, A., Sohrabi, F.( 2018). Effectiveness based on acceptance and commitment therapy on quality of life women heads of household conducted in Tehran welfare Organization. Shenakht Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry, 5 (5), 81-91 http://dx.doi.org/10.29252/shenakht.5.5.81

Narges, J., Saeedmanesh, M., & Demehri, F. (2016). The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on rumination and well-being in adolescents with general anxiety disorder. Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies, 8, 25. http://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.23222840.1397.8.0.77.2

Nejat, S., Montazeri, A., Holakouie Naieni, K., Mohammad, K., & Majdzadeh, S. R. (2006). The World Health Organization quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire: Translation and validation study of the Iranian version. Journal of School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research, 4(4), 1-12. https://sjsph.tums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_id=187&sid=1&slc_lang=en

Sadeghi, A., Jadidi, M., & Shamsaei, M. M. (2014). Comparison of the psychological profile, life satisfaction and coping strategies in spouses of martyrs, war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder and Prisoners of war. Thoughts and Behavior in Clinical Psychology, 9(31), 57-66.https://jtbcp.riau.ac.ir/article_78.html?lang=en

Shah, R., Kulhara, P., Grover, S., Kumar, S., Malhotra, R., & Tyagi, S. (2011). Contribution of spirituality to quality of life in patients with residual schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 190(2-3), 200-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2011.07.034

Shokraneh Arzanaghi A, Babaei E, Nazoktabar H. (2019). The study of the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on - marital coping strategies, self-awareness and marital conflicts of couples. Rooyesh, 8 (4), 41-52. http://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.2383353.1398.8.4.10.2

Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2018). Counseling and psychotherapy theories in context and practice: Skills, strategies, and techniques. John Wiley & Sons.

Wagner, A., Mosmann, C. P., Scheeren, P., & Levandowski, D. C. (2019). Conflict, conflict resolution and marital quality. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto), 29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-4327e2919

Weisskirch, R. S., & Delevi, R. (2013). Attachment style and conflict resolution skills predicting technology use in relationship dissolution. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), 2530-2534. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.027

Wersebe, H., Lieb, R., Meyer, A. H., Hofer, P., & Gloster, A. T. (2018). The link between stress, well-being, and psychological flexibility during an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy self-help intervention. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 18(1), 60-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.09.002

World Health Organization. (2004). The world health organization quality of life (WHOQOL)-BREF (No. WHO/HIS/HSI Rev. 2012.02). World Health Organization.‏ https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/77773/WHO_HIS_HSI_Rev.2012.02_eng.pdf

Wilson, S. J., Andridge, R., Peng, J., Bailey, B. E., Malarkey, W. B., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2017). Thoughts after marital conflict and punch biopsy wounds: Age-graded pathways to healing. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 85, 6-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.07.489

Young, M. E., & Long, L. L. (2014). Counseling and therapy for couples. Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

Zhang, C. Q., Leeming, E., Smith, P., Chung, P. K., Hagger, M. S., & Hayes, S. C. (2018). Acceptance and commitment therapy for health behavior change: a contextually-driven approach. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 2350 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02350

Journal of Modern Psychology

The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Marital Conflict and Quality of Life in Veterans of the Iran-Iraq War

References

References

Volume 2, Issue 3 - Serial Number 7
July 2022
Pages 48-60

The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Marital Conflict and Quality of Life in Veterans of the Iran-Iraq War

References

References

Volume 2, Issue 3 - Serial Number 7July 2022Pages 48-60

Volume 2, Issue 3 - Serial Number 7
July 2022
Pages 48-60