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The Efficacy of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT-C) Training with Regard to Reducing Sexual Dissatisfaction among Couples
Abstract
The present study was done with the aim of determining the efficacy of emotionally focused couples therapy training with regard to sexual dissatisfaction among couples. The research plan for this study was pretest, post-test and a control group. The statistical population was chosen among all couples from Shiraz who had called on the state and private consulting centers. Among these, 16 couples (32 people) whose scores on the index sexual satisfaction were less than average were randomly selected . Then they were randomly distributed into the experiment and control groups. The results were indicative of a significant difference between the groups regarding the dependent variable. In other words , the approach of emotionally focused couples therapy exerted an increasing influence on sexual satisfaction in couples. This efficacy was observed more among women.
An Internet survey was conducted to extend the investigation of attachment style to the domains of sexual communication and sexual satisfaction. We hypothesized that insecure attachment would be associated with sexual dissatisfaction, mediated by inhibited communication of sexual needs. Further, the association of attachment with inhibited communication was expected to be mediated by attachment-related tendencies toward deference to partners’ needs, concern with the relationship implications of sexual choices, general anxiety regarding sex, and feelings for one’s partner. Somewhat different mediational pathways were predicted for each of the 2 dimensions of attachment insecurity: anxiety and avoidance. Respondents (N= 1,989, around half of them involved in a sexual relationship at the time of the study and half not involved but with previous sexual relationship experience) completed measures of attachment-related anxiety and avoidance, neuroticism (a possible confound), and sexual communication and satisfaction. Results generally supported the hypotheses and provided additional evidence regarding the associations between attachment style, sexual communication, and sexual satisfaction.
This article summarizes the theory, practice, and empirical findings on emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT), now one of the best documented and validated approaches to repairing close relationships. EFT is based on an attachment perspective of adult intimacy. The article then considers how individual differences in attachment style have an impact on affect regulation, information processing, and communication in close relationships and how the practice of EFT is influenced by these differences.
This article summarizes the theory, practice, and empirical findings on emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT), now one of the best documented and validated approacher to repairing close relationships. Err is based on an attachment perspective of adult intimacy. The article then considers how individual differences in attachment style have an impact on affect regulation, information processing, and communication in close relationships and how the practice of EFT is influenced by these differences.
Couple and individual psychological factors are very widespread in those who present with sexual dysfunctions. The types of relationship and individual problems encountered are listed, along with ways of overcoming them in therapy. Specific techniques used in the behavioural systems approach are presented for managing difficulties of sexual motivation or desire, and principles and practice for treating sexual dysfunctions in psychosexual therapy are described.
Emotionally focused therapy for couples (EFTC) is an important framework for couples therapy. It provides an integrative model, drawing upon experiential, systems and attachment theory to understand the dynamics of the couple relationship and to describe the therapeutic process. The aim of this paper is to ask how EFTC uses attachment theory, and whether it draws as fully as it can upon the richness of that theory to inform the process of therapy. This is set in the context of the evolving importance of attachment theory for therapeutic work.
Is a man’s sexual peak earlier than a woman’s? Three studies were conducted to examine (a) whether the perception that men achieve their sexual peak at a younger age than do women is shared across individuals of different ages and sexes, (b) whether sexual peak is defined differently for men and women, and (c) whether differences between definitions contribute to differences in the age at which men and women are perceived to reach sexual peak. Study 1 suggested that participants believed that females reach their sexual peak at an older age than do males. Study 2 indicated that the defining feature of sexual peak for males was sexual desire and for females was sexual satisfaction. Study 3 suggested that predictions of male sexual peak coincided with participants’ predictions of male age of highest desire and frequency, but not satisfaction, and that female sexual peak coincided with participants' predictions of female age of highest satisfaction but not frequency or desire. Discussion focuses on potential reasons for differences between the perception of male and female sexuality, as well as the social and evolutionary importance of each of the dimensions of sexuality for both males and females.
The goal of this research was to extend prior work on adult attachment and sexuality, which has tended to focus on samples of adolescents and undergraduate students. A Canadian sample of 116 married couples aged 21–75 years completed self-report measures of adult attachment, marital, and sexual satisfaction. Results revealed that participants with higher levels of anxiety and avoidance reported lower levels of sexual satisfaction at the individual level. Individuals with more avoidant spouses also reported lower levels of sexual satisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship between sexual and marital satisfaction was stronger for more anxiously attached individuals and those with more anxiously attached spouses. These results suggest that attachment is linked in theoretically predictable ways to marital and sexual satisfaction.
In this article, we review the major research advances made during the 1990s in the study of sexuality in marriage and other close relationships. More specifically, we provide a critical review of the empirical findings from the last decade on such sexual phenomena as sexual behavior, sexual satisfaction, and sexual attitudes within the context of marriage, dating, and other committed relationships. After highlighting the major theoretical and methodological advances of the 1990s, we focus on the research literatures of: (1) frequency and correlates of sexual activity in marriage; (2) sexual satisfaction, including its association with general relationship satisfaction; (3) sexuality in gay and lesbian committed relationships; (4) trends in sexual behavior and attitudes in dating relationships; and (5) the role of sexuality in dating relationships. We also incorporate brief reviews of the past decade's research on sexual assault and coercion in marriage and dating and on extramarital sex. We end our decade review with recommendations for the study of sexuality into the next decade.
In two studies, we demonstrate that attitudes toward traditional sexual roles are linked with increased sexual passivity for women but decreased passivity for men. For both genders, sexual passivity predicts poor sexual functioning and satisfaction. Study 1 showed that endorsement of traditional sexual roles of male dominance and female passivity relates to greater sexual passivity among college-aged heterosexual women but less passivity for college-aged heterosexual men. For both young men and women, greater sexual passivity predicts less overall sexual satisfaction. The findings for Study 2 replicate Study 1 among sexually experienced adults recruited over the Internet. Autonomy mediated these relationships, which persisted when controlling for multiple potential confounds.
We integrate theoretical traditions on the social construction of gender, heterosexuality, and marriage with research and theory on emotion work to guide a qualitative investigation of how married people understand and experience sex in marriage. Results, based on 62 in-depth interviews, indicate that married men and women tend to believe that sex is integral to a good marriage and that men are more sexual than women. Moreover, husbands and wives commonly experience conflict around sex and undertake emotion work to manage their own and their spouse's feelings about sex. We refer to this emotion work as "performing desire" and show how it is linked to gendered experiences in marriage and to competing cultural discourses around gender, heterosexuality, and marriage.
A survey was performed in the spring of 2004 to investigate aspects of life quality and sexuality in young girls and boys visiting a youth clinic in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden.
Girls and boys coming for treatment, as well as accompanying persons, were over a period of three months asked to complete a questionnaire covering physical, mental, and social matters, including sexuality and lifestyle.
The questionnaire was answered by 480 girls and 108 boys. The response rate was 87%. The mean age of the girls was 18.7 +/- 2.1 years and of the boys 19.8 +/- 2.9 years. Significantly more girls than boys felt depressed, suffered stress, and had physical pain. More girls than boys were dissatisfied with their bodies and consciously tried to control their weight. Girls had been forced to have sex to a higher degree than boys. Boys, more than girls, appreciated casual sex, enjoyed masturbating and watching pornography and had an orgasm during intercourse.
We found that girls were less satisfied than boys with life, their bodies, and sexuality. Weight-control behavior was notably common among teenage girls and could indicate eating disorder problems. These gender differences should be taken into account for the adequate care and treatment of young people and important when designing youth-friendly clinics and the help they can provide.
Compared the relative effectiveness of 2 interventions in the treatment of marital discord: a cognitive-behavioral intervention that focused on teaching problem-solving skills and an experiential intervention that focused on emotional experiences underlying interaction patterns. 45 couples seeking therapy were randomly assigned to 1 of these treatments or to a wait-list control group. Each treatment was administered in 8 sessions by 6 experienced therapists whose interventions were monitored and rated to ensure treatment fidelity. Assessment measures included the Dyadic Adjustment Scale; Couples Therapy Alliance Scale; and tests of emotional style, target complaints, goal attainment, and intimacy. Results indicate that the perceived strength of the working alliance between couples and therapists and of general therapists effectiveness were equivalent across treatment groups and that both treatment groups made significant gains over untreated controls on measures of goal attainment, marital adjustment, intimacy levels, and target complaint reduction. The effects of the emotionally focused treatment were superior to those of the problem-solving treatment on marital adjustment, intimacy, and target complaint level. At follow-up, marital adjustment scores in the emotionally focused group were still significantly higher than those in the problem-solving group. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A total of 49 couples, in which the women were experiencing inhibited sexual desire (ISD), received Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT) or were assigned to a wait-list control group. An additional 15 couples were recruited as a non-ISD comparison sample. Only very modest treatment and control group differences were found after treatment. Females treated with marital therapy made significant gains on one measure of sexual desire and on level of depressive symptomatology. Overall, the marital treatment group seemed to make clinically significant gains from pre- to posttreatment which were largely maintained at follow-up. Lower levels of initial marital distress resulted in greater treatment gains, and better pretreatment marital adjustment predicted better posttreatment overall sexual adjustment. The main difference found between ISD and non-ISD couples was that ISD couples had significantly more sexual distress. Results are discussed in light of the unique features of this subject population, and suggestions are given for future research.
To document sexual and emotional satisfaction with their relationships and desired and actual frequency of sex among a representative sample of Australian adults.
Between mid-2001 and mid-2002, computer-assisted telephone interviews were completed by 10,173 men and 9,134 women aged 16-59 years from all States and Territories selected by modified random-digit dialling of households (response rate 73.1%). Respondents in a regular relationship were asked how physically pleasurable they found sex with the partner to be and how emotionally satisfying the relationship was. All respondents were asked how often they would ideally like to have sex and how often they had sex in the past four weeks.
Most people in heterosexual relationships found sex very or extremely pleasurable (90.3% men, 79.1% women) and the relationship emotionally satisfying (87.5% men, 79.2% women); men were more satisfied with both. Physical pleasure in sex was correlated with emotional satisfaction. One person in four had had no sex in the past four weeks; most people had had sex less than twice a week. Most people wanted ideally to have sex more often than they did. However, 24.3% of men but only 8.3% of women said they ideally wanted sex daily or more often.
Men on average express higher levels of relationship satisfaction and of sexual interest, but the overlap between men and women is large.
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