Comparison of the effectiveness of two mindfulness and logotherapy methods on anxiety index in chronic daily headache of women with marital conflict: A clinical trial study

Anxiety is considered as the most common psychiatric disorder and the most common response to stress stimuli. Women with marital conflict experience a significant level of anxiety, which can have an adverse effect on other psychological and, in general, quality of life. This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of two mindfulness and logotherapy methods on anxiety in women with chronic daily headache (CDH) with marital conflict.

In a randomized clinical trial (RCT), during April 2015 to July 2015, 45 female patients with marital conflict were selected from among the referrers to the psychiatric centers of Hamadan City, Iran, using a purposive sampling method and were assigned into two treatment and control groups through block randomization method. Two mindfulness and logotherapy methods were presented in the form of 8 weekly sessions to the participants of the experimental group and the control group merely received the routine treatments of the center. Evaluation of two anxiety and marital conflict indices was performed at two points before and after treatment. The data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Shefeh test in the software environment of SPSS.

The primary outcomes of the study showed that both mindfulness therapy and logotherapy were associated with a decrease in total anxiety scores (P < 0.0010). Secondary outcomes also showed that logotherapy had a significant effect in reducing apparent anxiety (P < 0.0010) and hidden anxiety (P < 0.0040) compared to mindfulness therapy.

The results of this study, consistent with the research background, suggest that both mindfulness therapy and logotherapy are effective in reducing anxiety syndrome in women. However, the logotherapy was associated with more favorable therapeutic outcomes. These findings can have clinical applications in the context of family interventions.