A Longitudinal Analysis of Changes in Marital Intimacy among Couples Participating in Therapeutic Interventions
Keywords:
Marital intimacy, couple therapy, longitudinal analysis, relationship quality, psychological interventionsAbstract
This study aimed to examine the longitudinal pattern of changes in marital intimacy and the stability of these changes among couples participating in couple therapy interventions. This study employed a quasi-experimental longitudinal design with three measurement points: pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up. The population consisted of couples attending family counseling centers in Tehran, selected through convenience sampling based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants received therapeutic interventions including emotionally focused couple therapy, cognitive–behavioral couple therapy, and communication skills training. Data were collected using a standardized Marital Intimacy Questionnaire assessing emotional, cognitive, communicative, sexual, and social intimacy. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics and repeated-measures ANOVA with post-hoc comparisons. The results of repeated-measures ANOVA indicated a significant effect of time on overall marital intimacy and all its dimensions. Pairwise comparisons revealed a significant increase from pre-test to post-test, with this improvement maintained at the follow-up stage. No statistically significant difference was observed between post-test and follow-up. The largest effect sizes were found for emotional and communicative intimacy. The findings suggest that couple therapy interventions produce significant and stable improvements in marital intimacy and play a critical role in enhancing relationship quality.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Roodabeh Hooshmandi (Corresponding author); Farzaneh Mardani, Seyed Ali Darbani (Author)
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