The Impact of Life Skills-Based Group Counseling on Sexual Intimacy Among Women of Reproductive Age with Low Sexual...

This study aimed to assess the effect of life skills-based group counseling on sexual intimacy among women of reproductive age. In this randomized controlled trial, 118 women (all scoring below 60 on the intimacy questionnaire) were allocated to intervention and control groups via block randomization. The intervention group attended eight life skills-based counseling sessions. Sexual intimacy data were collected at baseline, immediately after, and one-month post-intervention. Data were analyzed using chi-square, independent t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA with SPSS-24. Immediately after the intervention and at the one-month follow-up, mean sexual intimacy scores were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Repeated-measures ANOVA showed a significant main effect of time and a significant time × group interaction (p < 0.001), indicating that patterns of change in sexual intimacy scores over time differed between groups. Furthermore, the overall between-group difference remained significant (p = 0.001). The results suggest that life skills-based group counseling is associated with improved sexual intimacy among women of reproductive age who report low baseline sexual intimacy.