The Effectiveness of Boen's Systemic Counseling in Bullying and Behavioral Opportunities in Families Affected by Extramarital Relationships

Abstract

Introduction: Extramarital relationships cause irreparable damage to the shared life and interpersonal relationships of couples. The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of Boen's systemic counseling in addressing bullying and behavioral issues within families affected by extramarital relationships.Method: The present study used a quasi-experimental approach and a pre-test-post-test design with a control group to gather data. The study's statistical population comprised all couples who sought services at the Counseling and Psychology Center Exir of Tehran during the second half of 2022. Among them, 32 people (16 couples) were selected using the available sampling method and then randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (8 couples in each group). The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of Bowen's systemic counseling, while the control group remained on the waiting list. The study utilized the four-horse rider questionnaire (2012) and the Olweus bullying questionnaire (1996) as instruments. These were administered in two stages: pre-test and post-test. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software version 26, with two sections for descriptive and inferential (covariance) analysis.Result: Bowen's systemic counseling reduced bullying and improved behavioral opportunities in affected families dealing with extramarital affairs.Discussion and conclusion: Based on the results of this study, Bowen systemic counseling is an effective intervention for reducing bullying and creating behavioral opportunities in couples affected by extramarital relationships.

Keywords

• extramarital relationships
• behavioral opportunities
• bullying
• bowen's systemic counseling