Community Health Journal

Community Health Journal

Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on the Resilience and Quality of Life of Infertile Women: A Semi-Experimental Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 M.Sc clinical psychology,Department of psychology,Behshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Behshahr, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of psychology,Behshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Behshahr, Iran.
10.22123/chj.2025.469832.2111
Abstract
Introduction: Infertility can cause numerous psychological problems for infertile women and reduce their resilience and quality of life. The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of schema therapy on the resilience and quality of life of infertile women. Materials and Methods: The present study is a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with control and experimental groups. The statistical population of this study included all infertile women referring to the Hazrat Maryam Infertility Treatment Center in Sari and the Infertility Clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Sari in 1401. The sampling method was purposive. From the aforementioned population, 30 samples were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and then randomly assigned to the control and control groups (15 people in each group). The research instruments were the Conner and Davidson Resilience Scale questionnaires and the Quality of Life Questionnaire. The experimental group received 12 sessions of schema therapy based on the Young et al. (2003) treatment plan, and the control group did not receive psychotherapy during this period. After the sessions, the aforementioned questionnaires were administered again to both groups. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance.
Results: In the intervention group, the mean and standard deviation of resilience in the experimental group at pre-test was 11.49±12.6 and at post-test was 43.56±7.23, and the mean and standard deviation of quality of life in the experimental group at pre-test was 13.52±18.8 and at post-test was 13.52±18.8 reached 63.02±9.83. However, no significant difference was observed in the control group. Therefore, schema therapy in the experimental group significantly increased the mean score of resilience and quality of life in infertile women compared to the control group (p<0.001).
Conclusion: It seems that schema therapy is effective in increasing resilience and quality of life in infertile women and it can be recommended as an effective intervention in improving resilience and quality of life in infertile women in counseling centers and infertility treatment centers.
Keywords

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