Investigation the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group intervention on sexual avoidance, sexual satisfaction, marital happiness, and quality of life in individuals with sexual interest/arousal disorder

Investigating the effectiveness of a group intervention based on acceptance and commitment on reducing sexual avoidance and improving sexual satisfaction, marital happiness, and quality of life in people with sexual desire/arousal disorder

Randomized controlled clinical trial with three parallel groups, on 75 participants, block randomization method using Random Allocation Software, without blinding

This study will be conducted at the Department of Sexual Health of Iran in Tehran. Individuals with sexual desire/arousal disorder will be enrolled in the study. After initial assessments, participants will be randomly assigned to three intervention groups: an acceptance and commitment-based intervention, an attention control, and a no-intervention control. The intervention group will receive 8 weekly 90-minute sessions of acceptance and commitment-based group therapy, and the attention control group will participate in 8 weekly sessions of non-specific education and support. Assessments will be conducted at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and three months after the end of the intervention.

Married individuals aged 20 to 45 with sexual desire/arousal disorder will be included in the study. Individuals who miss more than one session, fail to cooperate in follow-ups, and have sudden changes in physical or mental status will be excluded.

Intervention group: Participants will receive 8 weekly 90-minute sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Attention control group: Participants will receive 8 weekly 90-minute sessions of non-specific education and support. Control group without intervention: Participants will receive no intervention during the study period.

Sexual avoidance, Sexual satisfaction

After completion of baseline assessments, eligible participants will be randomly allocated in equal proportions to the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) group, attention-control group, and no-intervention control group using block randomization with a fixed block size of six. The random allocation sequence will be generated using Random Allocation Software. Participants will be assigned according to the pre-generated random sequence to ensure balance in group sizes throughout the recruitment process.

De-identified individual participant data. The dataset will include demographic characteristics, baseline data, primary and secondary outcome measures, and variables required to reproduce the study findings. All personal identifiers will be removed prior to data sharing. Data will be available after publication of the primary study results upon reasonable request, submission of a scientific rationale, and approval by the corresponding author.

After publishing the paper

Researchers, faculty members, graduate students, research institutions, academic centers, and other applicants with legitimate scientific and research purposes may request access to the study data and documents. Requests will be reviewed based on the intended use of the data and will be granted upon approval by the corresponding author and in accordance with ethical and confidentiality requirements.

The study data and documents may be used solely for scientific, research, and educational purposes. Applicants must provide a written description of the intended use of the data, research question, analytical approach, and planned use of the documents. The data may not be used to identify participants, for commercial purposes, transferred to third parties without permission, or used in any manner inconsistent with research ethics principles. All data will be provided in a de-identified format, and recipients will be required to maintain confidentiality and appropriately acknowledge the original study in all reports and publications arising from the shared data.

contacting the corresponding author mirlohianm@gmail.com

Applicants should submit their requests by email to the corresponding author. The request should include the applicant’s details, institutional affiliation, the purpose of the data or document use, the research question, and the analysis plan. Requests will be reviewed for scientific merit, ethical considerations, and confidentiality requirements. A decision will be communicated within 4 weeks. If approved, the requested data or documents will be provided in an appropriate format after removal of all identifying information and shared via email or another secure transfer method.