Iranian Journal of Rehabilitation Research in Nursing

Introduction: Natural disasters increase social and psychological harm, especially in women. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of narrative exposure therapy on post-traumatic stress symptoms, social adjustment, and marital satisfaction among earthquake-affected married women in Ahar County.
Methods: The present study was a quasi-experimental applied study with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all earthquake-affected married women receiving services from the welfare office of Ahar County, from whom 36 participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. After the pre-test, the experimental group received narrative exposure therapy, and after completing the treatment sessions, the post-test was administered. The Mississippi Post-Traumatic Stress Scale, Bell Social Adjustment Questionnaire, and Enrich Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire were used to collect data. Data analysis was performed using analysis of covariance in SPSS-26 software.
Results: Comparison of pre-test and post-test scores in the experimental group showed that narrative exposure therapy significantly reduced post-traumatic stress symptoms, increased social adjustment, and increased marital satisfaction in the experimental group compared to the control group (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that narrative exposure therapy was effective in improving post-traumatic stress symptoms, social adjustment, and marital satisfaction in women who experienced an earthquake. It is recommended that all mental health professionals, especially psychotherapists, consider using this approach to improve the psychological well-being of earthquake-affected women.