The Effectiveness of Lazarus Multimodal Therapy on Cognitive Dissonance and Sexual Satisfaction in Women with Ambivalent Attachment Style

One of the most important factors affecting the quality and stability of a couple's relationship is sexual satisfaction. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Lazarus Multimodal Therapy on cognitive dissonance and sexual satisfaction in women with ambivalent attachment style.

The research was quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design and a control group. The statistical population included all married women admitted to the Marital Medicine Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran in 2020. By available sampling, 30 people were selected and divided into experimental (n =15) and control (n =15) groups. Samples were screened using the Attachment Style Questionnaire (Hazan and Shaver, 1987). Cognitive dissonance questionnaire (Harmon-Jones et al., 2008), sexual satisfaction questionnaire (Larson et al., 1998) were used to examine the effectiveness of the therapy in pre-test and post-test. In the experimental group, Multimodal Therapy was performed in 8 sessions (1 session per week lasting 90 minutes). At the end of the training, a post-test was taken from the groups. Data were analyzed using a t-test (independent and paired) and multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of cognitive dissonance, sexual satisfaction, and their components in women, in the pre-test and the post-test (p<0.05). Moreover, Lazarus Multimodal Therapy reduced cognitive dissonance and increased sexual satisfaction in the subjects of the experimental group (p<0.05).

Lazarus multimodal therapy can affect psychological constructs such as cognitive dissonance and sexual satisfaction of women with ambivalent attachment style. It is recommended that more research be done to increase external credibility.