The effect of schema therapy on sexual function and relationship attributions among women damaged by marital infidelity

Schema therapy is an innovative and integrated therapy that focuses on changing and improving early maladaptive schema and helping to develop healthy schema. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of schema therapy on sexual function and relationship attributions among women damaged by marital infidelity. This research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest and control group. The study sample consisted of 30 women affected by their spouse's extramarital affairs (15 women in the control group and 15 women in the experimental group) that were randomly selected and randomly assigned to the two groups. Training sessions were held in the first 6 months of 2019. The data were collected by the Sexual Function Index (Rosen, et al) and Relationship Attribution Measurement (Fincham & Bradbury). Then treatment group underwent eight sessions (90 minutes) weekly about two months, schema therapy. For control group didn’t give any train. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA and MANCOVA. The findings showed that schema therapy could significantly improve sexual function and relationship attributions. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that schema therapy can be considered as an effective intervention to improve communication skills and sexual function of women affected by extramarital affairs.