مقایسه اثربخشی زوج درمانی هیجان محور و زوج درمانی سیستمی بر بهبود اجتناب تجربه ای و کاهش رفتار پرخاشگرانه غیرکلامی در زنان شاغل

The family serves as the cornerstone of societal mental health, and the marital relationship is its fundamental pillar, playing an undeniable role in individual and social equilibrium. Studies in Iran indicate that over 30% of employed women experience moderate to severe levels of marital conflict. These unresolved conflicts manifest themselves through maladaptive emotion regulation and communication strategies. Two of the most significant of these maladaptive mechanisms are experiential avoidance and nonverbal aggression. Experiential avoidance refers to the conscious effort to escape confronting unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and memories. In the context of a stressful marital relationship, employed women may frequently postpone negative emotions (such as resentment over inequitable division of labor) to avoid more draining conflicts and conserve their limited energy. Although this strategy may seem calming in the short term, in the long run it leads to the accumulation of a vast reservoir of unresolved dissatisfaction and the creation of emotional distance. This accumulation of unexpressed emotion often finds another outlet: nonverbal aggression. This type of aggression involves purposeful, harmful behaviors without the use of words, such as hostile glances, contemptuous silence, sarcasm through tone, and body language. Due to its indirect and often deniable nature, identifying and managing these behaviors is more difficult and can inflict deeper damage on the foundation of trust and intimacy in the relationship. For stressed employed women, nonverbal aggression may serve as a less costly strategy (in terms of emotional energy) for expressing anger and frustration.

Various psychological therapies have been developed to intervene in marital conflicts. Two prominent evidence-based approaches are Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) and Solution-Focused Couple Therapy (SFBT). Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, founded by Sue Johnson, is based on attachment theory. By creating an emotionally safe space, it helps couples identify and express the primary and vulnerable underlying emotions of conflicts (such as fear of rejection and loneliness). In contrast, Solution-Focused Couple Therapy, rooted in the work of Steve de Shazer, focuses on discovering exceptions (times when the problem is absent), strengthening existing strengths within the couple, and constructing tangible, future-oriented solutions. This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test, follow-up, and a control group. The statistical population consisted of employed women with marital conflict complaints who referred to counseling centers in Mashhad in the years 2024-2025. From eligible volunteers (having at least a high school diploma, marriage duration over two years, high marital conflict score, and spouse's willingness to participate), 24 individuals were selected via purposive sampling and randomly assigned to three groups of eight. The research instruments were: Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire: Comprising 7 items on a 7-point Likert scale. A higher score indicates greater avoidance and less psychological flexibility. Its reliability and validity have been confirmed in Iranian studies. Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire: Comprising 29 items on a 5-point Likert scale, measuring various aggression subscales, including nonverbal dimensions. A higher total score indicates a higher level of aggression. Its psychometrics have been reported as favorable in Iran.

These questionnaires were administered at three stages: pre-test, post-test (immediately after therapy), and follow-up (two months after post-test) to all groups. Therapy sessions were conducted weekly, individually for each couple with both spouses present, by trained and supervised therapists.

Results from Multivariate Analysis of Covariance indicated the following:

Overall Effectiveness: Both Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy and Solution-Focused Couple Therapy interventions led to a significant reduction in scores of experiential avoidance and nonverbal aggression compared to the control group at the post-test stage (p < .01).

The reductions achieved in both variables were maintained at the two-month follow-up stage, and no significant difference was observed between post-test and follow-up scores. This indicates the stability of changes created by both therapies.

The implemented interventions were responsible for explaining 52% of the variance in the post-test scores of the dependent variables, indicating a large and significant effect size.

Although both methods were effective, they demonstrated distinct patterns of effectiveness.

Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy operates primarily through securing the emotional environment of the relationship. By helping couples identify their "negative interactional cycle" (e.g., pursue/withdraw), where nonverbal aggression and silence are used as weapons, EFT assists each partner in discovering and expressing the vulnerable primary emotions (e.g., fear of rejection, loneliness) hidden beneath anger and avoidance. When these deep emotions are heard and accepted, the need for avoidance and resorting to indirect aggression is fundamentally diminished. EFT often views anger as a "secondary emotion" and, by facilitating contact with the underlying primary emotions (vulnerability), dismantles the emotional foundation of aggressive behavior. This deep, attachment-related process explains its stronger impact on reducing experiential avoidance.

Solution-Focused Couple Therapy works through shifting the focus of attention and enhancing self-efficacy. Using questions like the "miracle question," this approach redirects the couple's attention from problems and negative emotions (the fuel for avoidance and aggression) toward exceptions (times when the problem was absent) and a vision of a desired future. This cognitive shift increases hope and reminds couples that they already possess resources and abilities for conflict management. By prescribing small, achievable tasks, SFBT disrupts old behavioral patterns and creates a positive cycle of small successes. The sense of competence stemming from these successes replaces feelings of helplessness, and the inclination to use destructive behaviors (like nonverbal aggression) for self-expression or control decreases. This focus on action and tangible behavioral change may be the reason for the quicker reduction in nonverbal aggression observed in this group. This research demonstrated that both the Solution-Focused Couple Therapy and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy models are effective tools for assisting employed women experiencing marital conflict and can lead to a reduction in emotional avoidance and destructive communication behaviors like nonverbal aggression.