The Effectiveness of the Strength-Based Approach on Self-Control and Emotional Regulation of Divorced Women

Abstract

Life after divorce seems impossible for many people. After the divorce and separation from the spouse, everything starts again. Women will experience new negative or positive emotions from the day of divorce. Therefore, the aim of the current research was to investigate the effectiveness of the strength-based approach on self-control and emotional regulation of divorced women.In terms of the purpose, the current research was of an applied type, and in terms of the method, based on the research design and method, it was a quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design (with an experimental group and a control group and a two-month follow-up period). The statistical population used in the present study included all divorced women who referred to counseling and psychotherapy centers in the 7th district of Tehran in 1401. Among these people, 40 people were selected using the purposeful sampling method and randomly assigned to an experimental group (20 people) and a control group (20 people). Then, the strength-based approach based on the protocol prepared by Darbani & Parsakia (2022) was implemented on the test group. The research tools include the emotion regulation questionnaire of Gross & John (2003) and the self-control questionnaire of Tangney et al. (2004) was. In order to statistically analyze the data, analysis of variance with repeated measurements and Bonferroni's post hoc test and version 26 of SPSS software were used.F value and significance level were calculated in the variable of emotion regulation (F = 7.56 and P = 0.002) and self-control (F = 6.91 and P = 0.002). It can be concluded that the independent variable (strength-based approach) has significantly changed the dependent variables (emotion regulation and self-control). Therefore, it can be concluded that the changes made in the dependent variables were caused by the implementation of the strength-based approach on the experimental group. The results of the Bonferroni post hoc test showed that the effects of the strength-based approach on the research variables were stable.Based on the available findings, it can be concluded that the strength-based approach was effective in regulating emotions and self-control of divorced women. Therefore, it is suggested that experts benefit from the techniques of this approach in their work.