The efectiveness of an integrated approach of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Olson's preparation approach on marriage expectation and responsibility among unmarried girls

Increasing the age of marriage may cause major damages to unmarried young people, especially girls, their families and the society . Economic, social, and cultural factors  have changed the marriage pattern in societies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of an integrated approach of Acceptance  Commitment Therapy(ACT) and Olson's preparation approach in enhancing marriage expectations and responsibility in unmarried girls. This study was experimental with pretest-posttest and control group. 40 unmarried girls in Tehran  participated in the research and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received eight 120- minute sessions of training based on an integrated approach of (ACT) and Olson's. Marriage expectation was measured by the Marriage Expectation Scale (MES) and responsibility by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI).Results showed that the integrated approach was effective in reducing pessimistic and idealistic marriage expectations . They also revealed that the integrated approach had been effective in increasing the realistic expectations of marriage and the responsibility of the girls. It is suggested that this approach be used by marriage counselors and family therapists as an interventional procedure.