Effectiveness of Johnson Model Couple’s Enrichment Training Program on Attachment Behavior and Sexual Dissatisfaction in Maladapted Couples

Document Type : Original

Authors

1 Ph.D. student, Department of Counseling, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling, Masjed Soleiman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Masjed Soleiman, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Susangerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Susangerd, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Researchers have found severe marital conflicts to be related to lower health and various diseases such as cancer, cardio, and chronic pains and concluded that marital maladjustment can bring about psychological and physical vulnerabilities among couples. The main focus of Johnson’s Model of Couple’s Enrichment Training Program is on understanding love, needs, and emotions, examining and controlling couples’ negative patterns, and developing positive, loving bonds. Objective: The current research aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Johnson model couple’s enrichment training program on attachment behaviors and sexual dissatisfaction in maladapted couples referred to counseling centers in Ahvaz. Method: The research design was experimental with pre-test-post-test-follow-up and control group. The research population was all maladjusted couples who were referred to counseling centers in Ahvaz among whom 30 couples were recruited using the available sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (15 couples in each group). The experimental group received 8 120-minute long sessions of enriching the relationships of Johnson couples. The instruments for collecting the data were the Scale of Couples 'Attachment Behaviours (Sandberg et al, 2012) and the Women's Sexual Satisfaction Scale (Meston, Trapnell, 2005). Data were analyzed by multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance. Findings: The results showed that there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of attachment behaviors (accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement) and sexual dissatisfaction. This effectiveness was continuing in the 3-month follow-up. Conclusion: The Johnson Model Couple Enrichment (HMT) training program improves access to and reprocessing of core emotional responses in couples' interactions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Adlparvar, E., Safaeirad, I., Erfani, N., & Jadidi, H. (2022). Modeling marital conflict based on attachment styles: The mediating role of early maladaptive schema domains in women on the verge of divorce. medical journal of mashhad university of medical sciences, 65(1), 203-217. https://doi.org/10.22038/mjms.2022.63383.3715
Abdollahi, E., Shokrgozar, S., Sheerojan, M., Golshahi, M., Zare, R. (2021). Relationship between sexual satisfaction and mental health in married older women. Journal of Guilan University of Medical Sciences, 30(1), 14-27. https://www.sid.ir/paper/969815/en
Alavi, S., Amanelahi, A., Attari, Y., Koraei, A. (2019). The effectiveness of emotionally focused couple therapy on emotional and sexual intimacy of incompatible couples. Family Counseling and Psychotherapy, 8(2), 25-46. [Persian] https://doi.org/doi.org/10.34785/J015.2018.002
Allsop, D. B., Leavitt, C. E., Saxey, M. T., Timmons, J. E., Carroll, J. S. (2021). Applying the developmental model of marital competence to sexual satisfaction: Associations between conflict resolution quality, forgiveness, attachment, and sexual satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 38(4), 1216-1237. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520984853
Burgess Moser, M., Johnson, S. M., Dalgleish, T. L., Lafontaine, M. F., Wiebe, S. A., & Tasca, G. A. (2016). Changes in relationship‐specific attachment in emotionally focused couple therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 42(2), 231-245.‏ http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12139
Burgess Moser, M., Johnson, S. M., Dalgleish, T. L., Wiebe, S. A., & Tasca, G. A. (2018). The impact of blamer‐softening on romantic attachment in emotionally focused couples therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 44(4), 640-654.‏ https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12284
Davis, D., Shaver, P. R., Widaman, K. F., Vernon, M. L., Follette, W. C., Beitz, K. (2006). “I can’t get no satisfaction”: Insecure attachment inhibited sexual communication and sexual dissatisfaction. Personal Relationships, 13(4), 465-483.‏
 Esmaeili, M., Daraei, Z., Shafiee, F. S. (2022). Predicting marital commitment based on family communication patterns, sexual satisfaction, and marital intimacy in satellite employees. Scientific Journal of the Psychology of Work, 1, 57-66. https://doi.org/10.30473/jpsy.2022.8886[Persian]
Ferdosi, S. (2019). The prediction of attitudes toward infidelity based on attachment behavior in couple relationships, marital quality relationships, and attachment styles in married women. Contemporary Psychology, Biannual Journal of the Iranian Psychological Association, 13(2), 149-157. DOI: 10.29252/bjcp.13.2.149 [Persian]
Freihart, B. K., Stephenson, K. R., Williams, P. B., Meston, C. M. (2021) Sexual satisfaction and gender differences. In: Maggino F. (eds) Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_4028-2
Frye-Cox, N., Ganong, L., Jensen, T., & Coleman, M. (2021). Marital conflict and health: The moderating roles of emotion regulation and marriage order. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2021.1925853
Ghashang, N., Mazaheri Tehrani, M., Fata, L., Mootabi, F., Heidari, M., & Bigham, Z. (2022). Psychometric properties of (BARE) scale: A systematic review protocol. Iranian Journal of Health Psychology, 5(2), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.30473/ijohp.2022.57700.1167[Persian]
Greenberg, L. S., Paivio, S. C. (2003). Working with emotions in psychotherapy (Vol. 13). Washington: Guilford Press.‏
Hashemi Golpayegani, F., Yazdi, S. M. (2021). Psychometric properties of Attachment Behaviors Scale in Iranian married people. The Journal of Women and Family Studies, 9(2), 127-147. Doi: 10.22051/JWFS.2021.21681.2598
Hosseinzadeh Taghvaie, M. (2022). The effect of emotion-focused couple therapy on increasing marital adjustment of incompatible couples. Psychological Methods and Models, 12(46), 163-172. https://doi.org/10.30495/jpmm.2021.22504.2843 [Persian]
Johnson, S. (2004). The practice of therapy is emotionally focused couple therapy. New York: Brunner–Rutledge. https://www.routledge.com/
Johnson, S. M. (2008). The contribution of emotionally focused therapy. Journal of Contempt Psychotherapy, 37, 41-52. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/s10879-006-9034-9
Johnson, S. M. (2019). Attachment theory in practice: Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) with individuals, couples, and families. New York: Guilford Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.4324/9781351168366
Kiani, A., Mohamadirazi, M. (2019). Predict marital satisfaction based on adverse childhood experiences, attachment behaviors, exchange patterns, and perceptions of parental marriage in couples. Family & Sexual Health, 1, 51-61. https://doi.org/10.52547/Fsh.1.1.51 [Persian]
Lecompte, V., Robins, S., King, L., Solomonova, E., Khan, N., Moss, E. (2021). Examining the role of mother-child interactions and DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor gene in understanding child-controlling attachment behaviors. Attachment & Human Development, 23, 35-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2019.1708422
Meston, C., Trapnell, P. (2005). Development and validation of a five-factor sexual satisfaction and distress scale for women: The Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women (SSS-W). The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2(1), 66-78. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2005.20107.x
Morgis, B. L., Ewing, E. S. K., Liu, T., Slauther-Acey, J., Fisher, J., Jampol, R. (2019). A hold me tight workshop for couple attachment and sexual intimacy. Contemporary Family Therapy, 41, 368–383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-019-09504-x
Olson, D. H. (2019) PREPARE/ENRICH. In: Lebow, J. L., Chambers, A. L., Breunlin, D. C. (eds). Encyclopedia of couple and family therapy. New York: Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_402
Øverup, C. S., Smith, C. V. (2017). Considering attachment and partner perceptions in the prediction of physical and emotional sexual satisfaction. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 14(1), 134-143.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.11.310
Rasouli, M., Babaei Gharmkhani, M., Davarniya, R. (2018). The evaluation of the psychometric properties of Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement Scale (BARE): A tool for measuring attachment behavior in couple relationships. Zanko Journal of Medical Sciences, 19(62), 1-17. http://zanko.muk.ac.ir/article-1-358-en.html
Rathgeber, M., Bürkner, P. C., Schiller, E. M., Holling, H. (2019). The efficacy of emotionally focused couples therapy and behavioral couple therapy: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 45(3), 447-463.‏ https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12336
Roshan Chesli, R., Mirzaei, S., Nikazin, A. (2014). Validity and reliability of Multidimensional Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women (SSSW) in one sample of Iranian women. Clinical Psychology and Personality, 12(1), 129-140. https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.23452188.1393.12.1.11.4
Sandberg, J. G., Busby, D. M., Johnson, S. M., Yoshida, K. (2012). The Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement (BARE) scale: A tool for measuring attachment behavior in couple relationships. Family Process, 51(4), 512-526.‏ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2012.01422.x
Sheikhan, Z., Ozgoli, G., Zahiroddin, A., Khodakarami, N., Nasiri, M. (2019). The relationship of marital quality and sexual satisfaction with marital status in Iranian women: A path model. International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 5, 31-40. https://doi.org/10.22037/ijabs.v5i1.21870
Soleimani, A. A., Najafi, M., Ahmadi, K., Javidi, N., Hoseini Kamkar, E., Mahboubi, M. (2015). The Effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy on Sexual Satisfaction and Marital Adjustment of Infertile Couples with Marital Conflicts. International Journal of Fertility & Sterility, 9(3), 393–402. https://doi.org/10.22074/ijfs.2015.4556
Soleimani, E., Tanha, Z., Malekirad, A., Kordestani, D. (2021). The role of life skills, sexual satisfaction, and love story in predicting marital conflicts of couples. Medical Journal of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 64(4). https://doi.org/10.22038/mjms.2021.20115 [Persian]
Wiebe, S. A., Johnson, S. M., Burgess Moser, M., Dalgleish, T. L., Tasca, G. A. (2017). Predicting follow‐up outcomes in emotionally focused couple therapy: The role of change in trust, relationship‐specific attachment, and emotional engagement. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(2), 213-226.‏ https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12199
Zargarinejad, F., Ahmadi, M. (2020). The mediating role of sexual self-schema in the relationship of sexual functioning with sexual satisfaction in married female college students. Iranian Journal of Psychiatric & Clinical Psychology, 25(4), 412-427. http://dx.doi.org/10.32598/ijpcp.25.4.5[Persian]

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 03 June 2022
  • Revise Date: 17 July 2022
  • Accept Date: 10 August 2022

Share

How to cite

Statistics