Abstract: (74 Views)
Introduction and purpose: Opioid dependence in women is associated with significantly more severe physical and psychological consequences compared to men. Therefore, addressing the treatment of this disorder and mitigating its detrimental effects is essential. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) on distress tolerance and loneliness in women with opioid use disorder.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest design with a control group and a follow-up phase. The statistical population consisted of all women with opioid use disorder attending addiction treatment centers in Ahvaz, Iran, in 2023. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and using a purposive sampling method, 30 individuals were selected and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n=15) or the control group (n=15). The experimental group received the Emotion-Focused Therapy protocol adapted from Gholamrezaei and Greenberg's (2012) model in eight 90-minute sessions, while the control group received no intervention during this period. Participants completed the Simons & Gaher Distress Tolerance Scale (2005) and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1980) at pretest, posttest, and one-month follow-up stages. Data were analyzed using mixed ANOVA (repeated measures) and Bonferroni post-hoc tests. To analyze the research data, SPSS software version 27 was used.
Results: The results of the mixed ANOVA indicated that the main effect of the intervention on distress tolerance (ŋ² = 0.28, p < .003) and loneliness (ŋ² = 0.27, p < .003) was significant at a significance level of .003 and with a 99% confidence level. The mean scores of the experimental group increased by an average of 8 units in distress tolerance and decreased by 7.66 units in loneliness from pretest to posttest. Furthermore, the effects of the intervention remained stable at the one-month follow-up with a 99% confidence level (p < .001).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that Emotion-Focused Therapy is an effective intervention capable of increasing distress tolerance and reducing loneliness in women with opioid use disorder, with its effects remaining stable in the short term. Therefore, it can be concluded that focusing on emotions and enhancing emotion regulation skills can serve as an effective complementary component in the treatment programs for this population.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest design with a control group and a follow-up phase. The statistical population consisted of all women with opioid use disorder attending addiction treatment centers in Ahvaz, Iran, in 2023. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and using a purposive sampling method, 30 individuals were selected and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n=15) or the control group (n=15). The experimental group received the Emotion-Focused Therapy protocol adapted from Gholamrezaei and Greenberg's (2012) model in eight 90-minute sessions, while the control group received no intervention during this period. Participants completed the Simons & Gaher Distress Tolerance Scale (2005) and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1980) at pretest, posttest, and one-month follow-up stages. Data were analyzed using mixed ANOVA (repeated measures) and Bonferroni post-hoc tests. To analyze the research data, SPSS software version 27 was used.
Results: The results of the mixed ANOVA indicated that the main effect of the intervention on distress tolerance (ŋ² = 0.28, p < .003) and loneliness (ŋ² = 0.27, p < .003) was significant at a significance level of .003 and with a 99% confidence level. The mean scores of the experimental group increased by an average of 8 units in distress tolerance and decreased by 7.66 units in loneliness from pretest to posttest. Furthermore, the effects of the intervention remained stable at the one-month follow-up with a 99% confidence level (p < .001).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that Emotion-Focused Therapy is an effective intervention capable of increasing distress tolerance and reducing loneliness in women with opioid use disorder, with its effects remaining stable in the short term. Therefore, it can be concluded that focusing on emotions and enhancing emotion regulation skills can serve as an effective complementary component in the treatment programs for this population.
Type of Study: Research(Original) |
Subject:
Psychology
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
