A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Marriage Enrichment (PAIRS) and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) in Improving Sexual Satisfaction

Sexual satisfaction is an important factor of marital life satisfaction, and those with higher sexual satisfaction have a significantly better quality of life than those without sexual satisfaction. The present research aimed to compare the effectiveness of marriage enrichment (PAIRS) and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) in improving the sexual satisfaction of young couples.

The research was semi-experimental (pretest-posttest with a control group and a one-month follow-up). The statistical population consisted of couples who visited Bina, Salam Zendegi, Emamat, and Shokraneh centers in the east of Tehran. Among the couples, who visited the centers from May to June 2021, 35 couples agreed to cooperate and participate in the research after screening using the sexual satisfaction questionnaire (LSSQ) by Larson et al. (1998), and 30 couples were selected by the purposive method and were randomly assigned to three groups, two experimental groups, and one control group. In the research, 10 couples (n=20) were assigned to the marriage enrichment (PAIRS) group, 10 couples (n=20) to the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) group, and 10 couples (n=20) to the control group. Data were analyzed using the repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).

According to the results, marriage enrichment intervention (PAIRS) and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) were effective in improving sexual satisfaction (F=67.73, P=0.001), and the effect was stable in the follow-up stage.

Group counseling for couples using the marriage enrichment method (PAIRS) and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) were both effective in improving marital sexual satisfaction. Based on the research findings, marriage enrichment (PAIRS) and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) were effective ways to improve marital satisfaction.