Comparison of the effect of group counseling and integrated counseling (group and individual) on sexual knowledge and attitude in women on the verge of marriage

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.Sc. Student of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

3 Professor, Department of Biostatistics, Management and Factors Affecting Health Research Center, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Previous studies and needs assessment indicate the need for youthon the verge of marriage to attend counseling classes in order to they can easily ask their sexual questions and receive their answers. Therefore, due to the lack of adequate information on the most effective way to provide counseling in this area, this study was performed with aim to compare the effect of group counseling and an integration of group and individual counseling on sexual knowledge and attitude in women on the verge of marriage.
Methods: This three-group interventional study was performed on 162 women referring to premarital counseling unit of Mashhad health centers in 2015-2016. The subjects were assigned into three groups of receiving integrated (individual and group) counseling, group counseling and normal education (control). Integrated group received two sessions of group counseling and one session of individual counseling, group counseling received three sessions of two hours of group counseling with one week intervals with objects of spouse relations and sexual and reproductive health. Data was collected using a standard questionnaire SKAS and were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16), and using ANOVA and Tukey, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal Wallis, and Chi-square tests. P<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: After the intervention, the difference of knowledge score (P=0.001) and sexual attitude score (P=0.004) was significant between three groups, but there was no significant difference between knowledge (P=0.9) and attitude (P=0.4) of two intervention groups.
Conclusion: Sexual knowledge and attitude of women toward sexual relations increased following the both methods of group counseling and an integration of group and individual counseling, this increase was significant compared with control group. According to the available facilities, implementation of each of two methods of counseling is recommended.

Keywords


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