comparison of the effectiveness of schema therapy and quality-of-life improvement- based treatment on marital intimacy in women affected by infidelity

Background: marital infidelity is one of the most important factors threatening the performance, stability and continuity of a marriage and accordingly, it is very important to take appropriate measures to reduce its negative effects. objectives: the present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of schema therapy and treatment based on the improvement of quality of life on marital intimacy in women affected by infidelity. methods: this was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design and a control group with a two-month follow-up. the statistical population was all women affected by infidelity in tehran city during 2020-2021, and the statistical sample consisted of 45 women who were randomly selected and assigned to three groups of 15 subjects each.  the schema therapy group was treated once a week in 8 90-minute sessions and the quality of life- based treatment group was treated in 10 90-minute sessions per week. the research instrument used was the marital intimacy questionnaire (mis) by walker thompson (2003). data were analyzed using anova and a repeated measures test. results: the results showed that 54/2% of marital intimacy is under the influence of two treatments. the main group effect was significant for intimacy (f=24/56, p=0.000, 0.210). however, there was no difference between the effectiveness of the two treatments in increasing intimacy. conclusion: it is concluded that schema therapy and quality of life improvement-based therapy are effective in increasing intimacy in women affected by infidelity.