Comparing the Effects of Solution-Focused Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy on Attitudes Toward Marital Infidelity of Married People

In recent years, with the appearance of new lifestyles, the family has been subjected to various disturbances. The increasing collapse of marital ties has become one of the devastating challenges of family life in our country. Attitudes towards infidelity can play a significant role in couples' tendency toward marital infidelity and divorce. Marital infidelity potentially disrupts couples' relationships and causes numerous disorders and psychological problems between individuals. Marital infidelity potentially disrupts couples' relationships and causes multiple disorders and psychological problems between individuals. Accordingly, appropriate interventions to reduce its negative effects seem very important. Thus, this study aimed to compare the impact of solution–focused therapy (SFT) and emotionally–focused therapy (EFT) on attitudes toward marital infidelity in married.

The present quasi–experimental study has a single–subject in a multiple baseline design. The statistical population included all couples referred to counseling centers in Bushehr City, Iran, in 2019. From this population, 8 couples (16 men and women in total) entered the study by voluntary sampling method, and couples were randomly assigned to two gorups: solution–focused therapy (4 couples) and emotionally–focused therapy (4 couples). The inclusion criteria were as follows: having a positive attitude towards marital infidelity based on the Attitudes Toward Infidelity Scale (ATIS) (Whatley, 2008) obtaining a score higher than 48, lacking a mental disorder confirmed by a clinical psychologist through an interview, lacking drug or alcohol addiction, no personality disorders, holding at least a diploma, being at least 20 years and at most 40 years old, living at least 3 years and at most 10 years of cohabitation at the time of research. The exclusion criteria were as follows: unwillingness to cooperate, not doing homework, participating in other programs simultaneously, and not participating in treatment sessions. Eight solution–focused therapy based and 10 emotionally–focused therapy sessions were each held for 90 minutes for both treatment groups. The data collection tool was the Attitudes Toward Infidelity Scale (ATIS) (Whatley, 2008). For statistical analysis of data and scores obtained from evaluations in three stages of baseline, treatment, and a two–month follow–up, the visual drawing method, reliable change index (RCI), and recovery percentage formula were used.

The decreasing trend of marital infidelity attitude scores in the follow–up stage compared to the early stages and treatment in both groups showed the effectiveness of solution–focused therapy and emotionally–focused therapy on the marital infidelity attitude of the studied individuals. The results also showed that emotionally–focused therapy, with 38.12%, was more successful in reducing attitudes toward marital infidelity than solution–focused therapy, with 23.22%.

Based on the study findings, solution–focused and emotionally–focused therapies reduced attitudes toward marital infidelity in married individuals. However, emotionally–focused therapy was more successful in lowering attitudes toward marital infidelity in married people than solution–focused therapy.