Clinical Psychology

Effectiveness of Masters & Johnson–Based Cognitive-Behavioral Sexual Skills Training on Sexual Satisfaction and Sexual Intimacy in Married Women

cognitive-behavioral sex therapy sexual satisfaction sexual intimacy married women

Authors

  • Marzieh Poosti Department of Psychology, Ker.C., Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran.
  • Hassan Amiri
    ahasan.amiri@iau.ac.ir
    Department of Psychology, Ker.C., Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran.
  • Saeedeh Al-Sadat Hosseini Department of Psychology, Ker.C., Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran.
In Press
Quantitative Study(ies)

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a Masters & Johnson–informed cognitive-behavioral sexual skills training program on sexual satisfaction and sexual intimacy in married women attending Tehran health centers.

Methods and Materials: In a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a control group, 30 married women were recruited through convenience sampling from health centers in Tehran (2024–2025) and randomly assigned to the intervention (n=15) or the control group (n=15). Outcomes were measured using the Hudson Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Bagarozzi Sexual Intimacy Questionnaire at baseline and posttest. The intervention consisted of eight weekly group sessions (2 hours each) based on Masters & Johnson's cognitive-behavioral sexual skills training. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA (SPSS v26), controlling for baseline scores.

Findings: Compared with controls, the intervention group showed significantly higher posttest sexual satisfaction and sexual intimacy. ANCOVA results indicated strong effects for sexual satisfaction (F=329.38, p=0.001, η²=0.924) and sexual intimacy (F=151.64, p=0.001, η²=0.849).

Conclusion: Masters & Johnson–informed cognitive-behavioral sexual skills training may substantially improve sexual satisfaction and sexual intimacy in married women. Future studies should use larger samples, follow-up assessments, and attention-matched controls to strengthen causal inference and generalizability.