The Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy on Emotional Divorce and Self-efficacy of Working Couples

Background: Emotional divorce happens when a man and a woman live coldly together but do not request a legal divorce. So the aim of this study is to investigate the impact of acceptance and commitment group therapy (ACT) on emotional divorce and self-efficacy of couples. Methods: This was a controlled experiment. In 2020, Bu Ali town, Hamedan province, had 338 married factory workers. Authors chose 60 emotional divorce sufferers using a questionnaire. 40 persons with average self-efficacy questionnaire ratings were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 8 weeks of acceptance and commitment-based treatment, while the control group received no intervention. Gottman's 1994 Emotional Divorce Questionnaire and Scherer et al1982.’s self-efficacy questionnaire were utilized as pre- and post-test. SPSS version 23 analyzed data. Shapiro-Wilk test assessed variable distribution normality. The scores in the experimental and control groups are normal because emotional divorce and self-efficacy are significant (P < 0.05). Leven's test tested the population's two groups' variance equality. Results: In the post-test phase, the findings of the analysis of covariance showed that acceptance and commitment group therapy resulted in lower scores of emotional divorce (p less than 0.05) and higher levels of self-efficacy (p less than 0.05) in the experimental group in comparison to the control group. Both the emotional divorce variable (P = 0.414, F = 0.682) and the self-efficacy variable (P = 0.601, F = 0.278) were found to have identical variances according to the results of the Leven test (P = 0.601, F = 0.278). Conclusions: Acceptance and commitment group therapy was able to significantly reduce emotional divorce and increase self-efficacy compared to the control group. Therefore, it is possible to prevent acceptance and commitment therapy to reduce emotional divorce and prevent psychological and social damage.