Effectiveness of Group Solution-Focused Counseling on Couples’ Happiness and Emotional Regulation

One of the factors that can improve marital satisfaction is the adjustment of couples' excitement and happiness. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of solutionfocused group counseling on happiness and emotional regulation of couples.

The present study was of interventional and experimental design with pretest/post-test and a control group). The statistical population consisted of all couples at the counseling centers in the first and second municipality districts of Tehran in 2016-2017, among whom 30 couples were selected by convenience sampling method and intervention was made for the experimental group. The measurement tools included Oxford Emotional Scale and Happiness Questionnaire and questions related to demographic characteristics. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance via SPSS software version 20.

The mean (SD) age of participants in the experimental group was 32.7 (2.8) and control group 33.4 (2.6). The mean (SD) score of happiness in the experimental group was 13.7 (4.2) in the pre-test, which increased to 19.8 (6.8) in the post-test (P<0.01); however, the mean (SD) score of happiness in the control group was 12.7 (5.2) in pre-test and varied to 13.3 (6.5) in the post-test, which was not statistically significant. The mean (SD) score of cognitive-emotional regulation in the experimental group was 28.5 (6.4) in the pre-test, which increased to 33.4 (9.4) in the post-test (P<0.01); however, the mean (SD) score of cognitive-emotional regulation in the control group in the pretest was 26.1 (4.9) and varied to 27.7 (5.1) in the post-test, which was not statistically significant.

The study showed that the solution-based approach increased the happiness and emotion regulation of couples.