The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy on Depression and Coping Styles of Women Exposed to Marital Infidelity

Background: Betrayal and marital infidelity are a kind of disorder and illness in behavior, which, due to its adverse effects, causes various injuries and problems for each person. This study aimed to determine the effect of training, based on cognitivebehavioral group therapy (CBGT), on depression and coping styles of women exposed to infidelity of a spouse, of course, the marital infidelity did not continue. Methods: This research was quasi-experimental, including pretest-posttest and control group. The population consisted of all women seeking psychological services due to the infidelity of their husbands during the second half of the Iranian year (from late September to late March) in 2017. Twenty two volunteers who met the requirements of the study were selected and randomly divided into two groups, experimental group (11 patients) and control group (11 patients). The experimental group participated in the 8th sessions (once a week, for 90 minutes) of CBGT. Subjects in both groups were asked to take a pre-test and post-test, responding to Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations Questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 13. To analyze the data, the descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance test were used. Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean of depression (54.10±5.3) and coping styles in the experimental group comparing with the post-test (P<0.001). The mean of problem-focused coping (09.58±35.7) of the experimental group increased in the post-test compared with the pre-test and the mean of the experimental group’s avoidance coping (90.48±88.4) and emotion-focused coping (25.41±59.11) decreased in the post-test compared with the pre-test. Thus, CBGT reduces depression and the use of ineffective coping styles (emotional and avoidance-coping styles), as well as, increasing the use of effective coping style (problem-focused coping style) in women after the marital infidelity of their spouses. It can be concluded that the implementation of CBGT has affected women after the marital infidelity of the spouse, which was 0.61 and created by an independent variable intervention. Also, the statistical power was 0.99. Conclusions: According to the results, it can be concluded that training, which is based on CBGT can improve depression and coping styles in women who exposed to infidelity of a spouse. It is suggested that counselors and psychologists use CBGT in dealing with women after the marital infidelity of their spouses. This way can help reduce their depression, behavioral abnormalities, and also improve coping styles.