the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on self-concept of infertile women

Introduction: infertility is a major life stressor that can significantly impact women's psychological well-being. one of the comprehensive indicators of mental health is self-concept. this study aimed to evaluate the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (mbct) on the self-concept of infertile women. methods: this quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2020 among infertile women attending hazrat zahra infertility center and affiliated healthcare centers in shahrekord, iran. a total of 90 women were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=45) and control (n=45) groups. prior to the intervention, all participants completed a two-part questionnaire including demographic data and the validated rogers' self-concept inventory. the intervention group participated in eight 2-hour sessions of mbct. both groups completed the questionnaire again immediately and 2 months after the intervention. data were analyzed using spss version 20, employing chi-square and repeated measures anova tests. results: there were no significant differences in self-concept scores between the groups at baseline. however, the intervention group showed significantly higher self-concept scores both immediately and 2 months after the intervention compared to the control group (p<0.001). conclusion: group-based mbct effectively improved self-concept in infertile women. these findings suggest that mbct can serve as a cost-effective and accessible psychological intervention, potentially improving mental health outcomes and complementing conventional infertility treatments.