Comparing the effectiveness of premarital education based on the model of building a lasting connection and the SYMBIS model on the sexual intimacy of newly married couples and couple candidates

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of premarital education based on the model of building a lasting connection and the SYMBIS model on the sexual intimacy of newly married couples and couple candidates. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group with a three-month follow-up. The statistical population of the research included couples on the verge of marriage or married in 2023 and referred to the service center in Mashhad. 24 couples were purposefully selected and randomly divided into three groups (8 couples in each group). The research tool included the sexual intimacy scale (SIS) by Botlani et al. (2009). The control group did not receive any intervention, but one experimental group received the building a lasting connection model in 6 sessions 2 hours, and another experimental group received the SYMBIS model intervention in the form of 8 sessions 90-minute sessions. A mixed variance analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that both groups of building a lasting connection (P<0.01) and SYMBIS (P =0.05) had a significant and stable effect on the sexual intimacy of new couples and couple candidates compared to the control group. Also, the results show that there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two interventions (P>0.05). The results showed that the model building a lasting connection and the SYMBIS model are effective interventions for the use of counselors and psychologists to improve the marital compatibility of new couples and couple candidates.