Effectiveness of Paradoxical Therapy on Psychological Resilience and Negative Meta-Emotions in Infertile Women with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of paradoxical therapy (PT) in improving psychological resilience and reducing negative meta-emotions among infertile women diagnosed with OCD.
Methods and Materials: A quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest and a control group was conducted. Thirty infertile women diagnosed with OCD, recruited via convenience sampling from fertility centers in Tehran (2024), were randomly assigned to intervention (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The intervention group received six weekly sessions (90 minutes each) of paradoxical therapy. Outcome measures included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Negative Meta-Emotion subscale of the Mitmansgruber Meta-Emotion Scale, administered at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA with Greenhouse-Geisser correction.
Findings: Significant group × time interactions were observed for both resilience (F=198.4, p<0.001, η²=0.686) and negative meta-emotions (F=31.02, p<0.001, η²=0.526). Bonferroni-adjusted comparisons showed statistically significant improvement in resilience and reduction in negative meta-emotions in the intervention group from pretest to posttest and follow-up (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Paradoxical therapy appears to be effective in enhancing resilience and reducing maladaptive meta-emotions in infertile women with OCD. Future studies should consider larger samples, randomized designs, and longer follow-up durations.
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