Effectiveness of Group Narrative Therapy on Feelings of Inferiority and Attachment Styles of Married Women With Extramarital Relationships in Mashhad City, Iran

Background: Marital infidelity damages the intimate relations of couples and by exposing it, the tensions of the spouses increase and the marital adjustment of the spouses is damaged. In this regard, the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of group narrative therapy on feelings of inferiority and attachment styles of married women with experience of extramarital relationships in Mashhad. Method: The present study is a quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The study population consisted of all women in Mashhad involved in extramarital affairs who had counseling records in Peidayesh Counseling Center in Mashhad, which 40 of them who enjoyed the inclusion criterion of the research were selected through convenience sampling method and assigned to the experimental (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. Data collection tools were Hazen and Schiver (1986) attachment style questionnaire and Eysenck (1988) feeling of inferiority. Group narrative therapy was performed to Experimental group during 7 sessions by researcher and the control group did not undergo any intervention. Data analysis was performed by univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance using SPSS 22 software. Results: The results of data analysis showed that group narrative therapy training was effective on feeling inferiority and on all three styles of secure, avoidant and ambivalent attachment (P=0.001 <0.05). Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be said that group narrative therapy is effective in reducing feelings of inferiority and insecure and ambivalent attachments and increasing secure attachment of women with extramarital relationships and this method can be used to improve psychological problems of women with extramarital relationships.