The Effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy on Attachment Injuries, Dyadic Trust, and Marital Forgiveness among Couples Experiencing Infidelity-Related Distress
Keywords:
Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, Infidelity, Attachment Injuries, Dyadic Trust, Marital Forgiveness, Affair Recovery, Couple Therapy, Attachment TheoryAbstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT) on attachment injuries, dyadic trust, and marital forgiveness among couples experiencing distress related to emotional or sexual infidelity. This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest, posttest, and three-month follow-up assessments using an experimental and a waitlist control group. The population consisted of couples seeking counseling services for infidelity-related relationship problems in Canada during 2025–2026. Following screening procedures, 60 couples (120 individuals) who met the inclusion criteria were selected and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (30 couples) or the control group (30 couples). Participants in the experimental group received twelve weekly 90-minute sessions of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, whereas the control group received no intervention during the study period. Data were collected using the Attachment Injury Resolution Scale, the Dyadic Trust Scale, and the Marital Forgiveness Scale. The data were analyzed using repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc comparisons in SPSS version 29. The results of repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant effects of time, group, and Time × Group interaction for all dependent variables. Significant interaction effects were found for attachment injuries (F = 103.84, p < .001, η² = .66), dyadic trust (F = 95.76, p < .001, η² = .62), and marital forgiveness (F = 129.86, p < .001, η² = .72), indicating that participants receiving EFCT experienced significantly greater improvements than those in the control group. Bonferroni pairwise comparisons demonstrated significant reductions in attachment injuries and significant increases in dyadic trust and marital forgiveness from pretest to posttest and from pretest to follow-up (p < .001). No significant differences were observed between posttest and follow-up scores, indicating maintenance of treatment gains across the follow-up period. The findings indicate that Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy is an effective intervention for couples experiencing infidelity-related distress. By addressing attachment-related vulnerabilities and promoting emotionally corrective interactions, EFCT significantly reduced attachment injuries while enhancing dyadic trust and marital forgiveness. The sustained improvements observed at follow-up suggest that the intervention facilitates enduring changes in relational functioning and supports long-term recovery following experiences of betrayal.
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