The effect of group cognitive-behavioral counseling on optimism and self-esteem of women during the 1st month of marriage that referring to marriage counseling center

Maryam Dafei; Fateme Jahanbazi; Farahnaz Nazari; Faranak Safdari Dehcheshmeh; Ali Dehghani

doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_1075_20

The effect of group cognitive-behavioral counseling on optimism and self-esteem of women during the 1^st month of marriage that referring to marriage counseling center

J Educ Health Promot. 2021 Jun 30:10:209. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_1075_20. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Maryam Dafei¹, Fateme Jahanbazi², Farahnaz Nazari³, Faranak Safdari Dehcheshmeh^{4

5}, Ali Dehghani⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Midwifery, Research Center for Nursing and Midwifery Care, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
² MSc Student in Midwifery Consultation, Student Research Committee, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
³ PhD Student of Family Counseling, Azad University of Khorasgan, Isfahan, Iran.
⁴ Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
⁵ Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
⁶ Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Quality of relationship marital status affects all aspects of family functioning, including sustainability of cohabit living, supporting children, and happiness of couples. This study was conducted to examine the effect of group cognitive-behavioral counseling on optimism and self-esteem of women during the 1^st month of marriage that referring to marriage counseling center.

Materials and methods: A semi-experimental study was designed by a test, posttest, and follow-up. Participants consisted of 30 women admitted to premarriage counseling center of Farsan city in 2018 with using purposive sampling by random numbers' table into experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in eight consecutive 2-h group counseling sessions. Data collection tools were demographic questionnaire, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and optimism designed by Mir Ahmadi (reliability and validity are calculated and was 0.96) and completed in three rounds. Women's self-esteem retested was done after 1 month. Data were analyzed with independent t-test and repeated measures ANOVA (significance level <0.005). Quantitative variables were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.

Results: There were no significant differences between optimism scores in the experimental (M = 150.47, standard deviation [SD] = 22.07) and control groups (M = 149.2, SD = 21.54) prior to intervention (P = 0.875). The mean optimism score was significantly different in intervention (M = 169.33, SD = 17.01) and control (M = 147.2, SD = 22.22) groups immediately after counseling (P = 0.005) and 1 month after counseling (P = 0.002, M = 171.08, SD = 17.98). The mean self-esteem scores were statistically significant in both groups immediately after counseling (P = 0.023, I: M = 37.06, SD = 8.69, C: M = 31.4, SD = 4.83) and 1 month after counseling (P = 0.028, I: M = 34.73, SD = 4.93, C: M = 30.06, SD = 4.8).

Conclusion: Cognitive-behavioral counseling enhances women's optimism by emphasizing the training of communication and conflict resolution skills, which leads to positive attitude and life satisfaction. Therefore, using cognitive-behavioral counseling in marriage counseling sessions can improve couples' relationships.

Keywords: Cognitive behavioral; counseling; optimism; self-esteem.