Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Couple Therapy combined with Mindfulness on mindful attention, depressive symptoms and dyadic adjustment: A randomized clinical trial

INTERVENTION: 55384 Experimental group (n = 16) x Wait‐list control group (n = 18). Experimental ‐ Couples in the experimental group underwent 8‐sessions of psychotherapy based on the cognitive‐behavioral model combined with mindfulness practices (body scan 10‐minutes day, at least 5 days per week) and were assessed in pre, post and 3‐month follow‐up (dyadic adjustment, mindful attention, marital social skills and depressive symptoms). Control ‐ couples were randomly selected to wait‐list group. Most of the general sample, 55.9%, was between 21 and 30 years old, 50% of the participants reported having completed high school, 35.3% had only one child, 55.9% related being employed, 88.2% were in their first marriage, 76.5% attend some religious service weekly, 52.9% had a family income of up to R$1,980,00. CONDITION: 1294 depression PRIMARY OUTCOME: Presentation of expected outcome: Effect of intervention on dyadic adjustment, assessed by the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale; mindful attention, measured with the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale; quality of marital social skills, assessed by the Marital Social Skills Inventory; and depressive symptoms, by the Beck Depression Inventory. For all variables, means, standard deviation and 95% confidence intervals were analyzed at the three times (pre‐intervention, post‐intervention and 3‐months follow‐up). In addition, we performed Analysis of Variances for Within and Between‐Subjects effects by variables (experimental group vs. control group ‐ wait‐list). It was expected that the intervention would improve the means' levels for the aforementioned variables. In the statistical analysis, p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant Presentation of findings: There was a significant intra‐group effect on the time for dyadic adjustment, conscious attention, depressive symptoms (< .000) and social skills (< .01); and significant difference between groups (experimental vs. control) for all variables. Thus, the intervention effect was statistically significant. SECONDARY OUTCOME: Secondary outcomes are not expected INCLUSION CRITERIA: age between 18 and 60 years; being in a heterosexual relationship; Portuguese as their mother tongue; literate and having education level up to complete higher education; having one or more year of marriage or cohabitation; to present conflict in the relationship related to communication difficulties (we used the Romantic Partner Conflict Scale adapted); naive practitioner in the Mindfulness meditation exercise; monthly income per family up to R$6,000,00; having consent of both spouses to participate in the study.