A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of Schema Therapy and Cognitive Restructuring in Reducing Rumination and Emotional Loneliness Among Women Affected by Marital Infidelity

Document Type : Article extracted From phd dissertation

Authors
Vida Farzalizadeh 1
Mahnaz Askarian 2
Mehrnaz Azadyekta 3
1 Department of psychology, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Department of psychology, Ashtiyan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ashtiyan, Iran.
3 Department of psychology, Eslamshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Eslamshahr, Iran.
10.22034/he.2025.537880.1126
Abstract
Marital infidelity remains one of the most psychologically destabilizing relational traumas, often resulting in prolonged cognitive rumination and profound emotional loneliness. This study examined the comparative efficacy of schema therapy and cognitive restructuring in reducing rumination and emotional loneliness among women affected by spousal betrayal. Seventy-five participants were randomly assigned to schema therapy, cognitive restructuring, or a waitlist control group. Using a pre-test–post-test design, outcomes were assessed via validated self-report measures of rumination (α = .86) and emotional loneliness (α = .76). Mixed ANOVA revealed significant group × time interactions for both rumination (F (2,144) = 17.37, p < .001) and emotional loneliness (F (2,144) = 3.82, p = .024). Post-hoc comparisons confirmed that schema therapy outperformed both cognitive restructuring and control conditions, yielding the largest reductions in both outcomes. MANOVA corroborated these results at the multivariate level (Wilks’ Λ = .350, p < .001). Findings underscore schema therapy’s unique capacity to remediate entrenched cognitive-affective patterns associated with betrayal trauma. 

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Human Ecology
Volume 4, Issue 11
Summer 2025
Pages 854-867