The Effects of Schema Therapy on the Hope of Life, Quality of Life, and Psychological Wellbeing in Housewives

Family health is of significant importance. Besides, women, as a pillar of the family, play a significant role in this respect. Women are at greater risk for developing mental health disorders than men. Women’s mental health includes their biosocial, cultural, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing, i.e., influenced by bio socioeconomic and familial factors. Furthermore, it is among the most critical characteristics in the progress of the foundation of the family. Improving the bio psychological health of women leads to the enhanced mental health of their children; thus, it is essential to improve the mental health of women to develop a healthy and creative generation. The current study aimed to determine the effects of schema therapy on the Hope of Life (HoL), Quality of Life (QoL), and Psychological Wellbeing (PWB) in housewives.

This was an experimental study with a pretest–posttest and a control group design. The statistical population of this study was all female housewives in district 3 of Tehran City, Iran, in 2019; of whom, 50 cases were selected using the non–random–targeted sampling method. Accordingly, they were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control (n=25/group). The inclusion criteria of the study were as follows: the age range of 30 to 50 years; being a housewife; having at least a diploma education; being a resident of Tehran, and presenting no physical illnesses. The exclusion criteria of the study included unwillingness to participate in meetings and absence from>2 treatment sessions in the experimental group, as well as providing incomplete and invalid information. The research tools consisted of the Psychological Wellbeing Scale (SPWB) (Ryff, 1989), WHO Quality of Life–BREF (WHOQOL–BREF; 1996), Life Expectancy Scale (Snyder et al., 1991), and Young’s Schema Questionnaire–Short Form (Young & Brown, 1998). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA). The level of significance was set at 0.05.

The obtained results suggested a significant difference in the posttest scores of HoL (p<0.001), QoL (p<0.001), and PWB (p=0.002) between the experimental and control groups. The mean±SD pretest and posttest values of HoL were 40.36±5.90 and 50.32±3.16; the same rates for QoL were 81.76±8.83 and 93.84±13.36; and the relevant data for PWB were 70.92±10.89 and 76.72±7.98, respectively. Ηηchr('39')s quadratic square suggested that 49% of the changes in the HoL, approximately 31% of changes in the QoL, and approximately 21% of changes in PWB scores were related to the effect of schema therapy.

The present study results indicated that schema therapy increased HoL, QoL, and PWB, and their associated components in the experimental group, compared to the controls at the posttest stage. Therefore, interventions based on this approach can be effective in promoting mental health and improving the lives of housewives in district 3 of Tehran.