The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy on the Improvement of PostmenopausalWomen’s Body Image: A Randomized Clinical Trial

The physiological changes in postmenopausal women, especially age-related physical changes, may lead to negative experiences in body image among these women.

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral group therapy on the negative body image of postmenopausal women.

This parallel randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 22 eligible postmenopausal women attending a health care center in Ahvaz, Iran, in 2018. They were randomly selected and assigned to intervention and control groups (n = 11 per group). The intervention group attended eight 90-minute sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) based on the Cash 8-step model. All participants completed the body image concern inventory (BICI) and Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention. The chi-square test, independent t-test, and repeated measures test were used to investigate the trend of changes in BICI and MBSRQ and their domains over time in both groups. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant for all tests.

Before the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in demographic characteristics (such as age, age of menopause, and body mass index (BMI)) between the 2 groups; also, there were no statistically significant differences in themean scores of MBSRQ and BICI between the 2 groups (P < 0.05). After the intervention, a significant increase was observed in the mean scores of MBSRQ and its 3 out of 6 domains (appearance evaluation (AE), appearance orientation (AO), and body areas satisfaction (BAS); P < 0.05), while a significant decrease was observed in the mean scores of BICI in the intervention group compared with the control group (P < 0.05).

Cognitive behavioral group therapy based on the Cash 8-step model in postmenopausal women can promote satisfaction with their body image.