Comparing the effectiveness of quality of life therapy and compassion-focused therapy on the quality of interpersonal relationships and distress tolerance in women with marital conflict

Introduction: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of quality of life therapy and compassion-focused therapy on the quality of interpersonal relationships and distress tolerance in women with marital conflicts. Materials and Methods: The statistical population of this clinical trial concluded all married female students with marital conflicts, who referred to counseling center of Islamic Azad University of Mashhad in the first half of the academic year (2019-2020). Amongst them 45 students were selected by convenience sampling and assigned into two experimental groups and one control group randomly (n=15). For data collection, Simmons and Gaher´s Distress Tolerance Questionnaire and Pierce, Sarason, and Sarason Quality of Relationships Inventory (QRI) were used. For data analysis, SPSS software and repeated measures analysis of variance were applied. Results: According to the calculated F (F=286.27) which is lower than the F criterion at the 0.05 level, both types of treatment have been effective in distress tolerance index and the quality of interpersonal relationships. In the variable of the quality of interpersonal relationships, the quality of life skills have had better results compared to the compassion-focused therapy and in the variable of distress tolerance, the compassion-focused therapy has had better results than the quality of life skills; but the difference between the groups is not significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results, quality of life therapy and compassion-focused therapy have significant effects on family mental health, such as the quality of interpersonal relationships and distress tolerance.