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A Randomized Trial of a Relationship-Enhancement Approach in Improving Marital Intimacy in Middle-Aged Iranian Couples Publisher Pubmed



Javadivala Z1 ; Allahverdipour H2 ; Kouzekanani K3 ; Merghatikhoei E4 ; Asghari Jafarabadi M5, 6 ; Mirghafourvand M7
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Health Education & Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Health Education & Promotion, Clinical Psychiatry Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
  3. 3. College of Education & Human Development, Texas A&M, University-Corpus Christi, TX, United States
  4. 4. Iranian National Center of Addiction Studies (INCAS), Institute of Risk Reduction, and Sexual & Family Health Division, Brian & Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Institute of Neuroscience, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  5. 5. Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
  6. 6. Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
  7. 7. Department of Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

Source: Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy Published:2019


Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a relationship enhancement education and counseling (REEC) program on improving middle-aged couples' marital intimacy. The randomized controlled trial study was conducted in Tabriz, Iran, from May to December 2017. Thirty-two married couples, attending a public health center and meeting the inclusion criteria, were randomly assigned to the intervention (receiving REEC) and control (receiving routine care) groups. The outcome measures were marital intimacy, sexual motivation, and sexual function. Data were collected at three points in time. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used for the purpose of data analysis. In all analyses, the interventional group outperformed the control group on all outcome measures. In the intervention group, results showed statistically significant improvement in all variables of interest after one week and 12 weeks in comparison with preintervention. Upon the completion of the experimentation, it can be concluded that a REEC program positively affects marital intimacy, sexual function, and sexual motivation in middle-aged couples. © 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis.