The Effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Group Therapy on Functional Resilience and Psychological Vulnerability in Women with Sexual Trauma
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Background: Sexual trauma is associated with long-term psychological consequences, including emotional distress, reduced adaptive functioning, and increased vulnerability to psychological symptoms. Functional resilience may protect survivors against trauma-related distress, while psychological vulnerability may increase the risk of maladaptive outcomes. The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of emotion-focused group therapy on functional resilience and psychological vulnerability in women with sexual trauma.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study used a pretest–posttest design with a control group. The sample consisted of 30 women with confirmed sexual trauma in Isfahan who were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group, with 15 participants in each group. The experimental group received 12 sessions of emotion-focused group therapy, held twice weekly for 90 minutes per session, while the control group received no psychological intervention during the study period. Data were collected using the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale and the Symptom Checklist-90. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and follow-up ANCOVA tests.
Results: The multivariate analysis showed a significant overall effect of emotion-focused group therapy on the combined outcomes of functional resilience and psychological vulnerability, Wilks’ Λ = .44, F(2, 25) = 15.65, p = .01, η² = .55. Follow-up ANCOVA results showed that the intervention significantly reduced psychological vulnerability, F(1, 27) = 12.86, p = .01, η² = .32, and significantly increased functional resilience, F(1, 27) = 14.88, p = .01, η² = .35.
Conclusion: Emotion-focused group therapy was effective in reducing psychological vulnerability and improving functional resilience in women with sexual trauma. These findings support the use of emotion-focused group interventions in trauma-related psychological care.
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