The Efficacy of Integrated Model of Self Regulation-Attachment Couple Therapy on Marital Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being of Couples

Introduction: This research examined the efficacy of integrated model of self regulation-attachment couple therapy on marital satisfaction and psychological well-being of couples. Method: To select the research sample, among the couples referring to the council centers of Khoramabad city, 22 couples were selected. Then randomly 11 couples assigned to experimental group and other 11 couples assigned to control group. Because this research is a pretest-posttest pseudo-experimental design with control group, before the performing of self regulation-attachment couple therapy, the questionnaires of Enriching and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness (ENRICH), Golombok-Rust Inventory of marital state (GRIMS) and Mental Health Inventory-28 (MHI-28) conducted for all of the couples as pretest. Then, couples of experimental group participate in integrated model of self regulation-attachment couple therapy during the 6 to 8 weekly sessions, but the control group remains on the waiting list. After the compliting of therapeutic sessions, the couples of two groups completed the questionnaires again as posttest. Finally, these data analyzed by MANCOVA. Results: Results of analysis by MANCOVA indicated that after the control of pretest effect, the effect of group membership on liner composition of dependent variables (marital satisfaction, marital problems, psychological well-being and psychological distress) was significant. Univariate analysis (testes of between subject effects) indicated that the means of dependent variables were significantly different in two groups, and the testes of pairwise comparisons of dependent variables (LSD), indicated that self regulation-attachment couple therapy had significant efficacy on increasing marital satisfaction, decreasing marital problems, increasing psychological well-being and decreasing psychological distress compare to control group. Conclusion: Self regulation-attachment couple therapy is an effective treatment that specially can useful for couples that in addition to having dissatisfaction and marital problems are at risk for mental health problems (low psychological well-being and high psychological distress).