The Effect of Counseling Based on Sexual Health Model on Sexual Compatibility of Women at Risk of Emotional Divorce

Low sexual compatibility is one of the reasons for emotional divorce. This study aimed to investigate the effect of counseling based on Sexual Health Model on sexual compatibility of women at risk of emotional divorce.  

In this two-group quasi-experimental study, 72 women at risk of emotional divorce were assigned to intervention and control groups. For women in the intervention group, one individual interview session along with her spouse and four weekly sessions of 90-minutes group counseling based on the Sexual Health Model, focusing on sexual compatibility, were held. An educational package was prepared for the spouses of the intervention group. The research tools included the demographic and fertility characteristics questionnaire, the standard Guttman Emotional Divorce Questionnaire, Sexual Compatibility with Spouse (SCS) questionnaire and Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS-21). The questionnaires were completed before, immediately, and one month after the intervention.

The two groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic data and fertility characteristics (P> 0.05). There was no significant difference between the mean total sexual compatibility scores of women at risk of emotional divorce in the two groups of intervention and control before counseling. But the mean of total score of sexual compatibility in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group immediately and one month after the counseling intervention compared to pre intervention (P <0.001).

Counseling based on the Sexual Health Model is effective in increasing the sexual compatibility of women at risk of emotional divorce.