E-ISSN : 2733-4538
This research examines the effect of a growth-writing program on the world assumptions and fear of intimacy of survivors of dating violence. Research subjects included women between 19 and 38 years who had experienced dating violence and were not currently dating. The writing practice was completed during four days, and participants’ world assumptions (WAS) and fear of intimacy (FIS) were measured before and after the program and in the follow-up (2 weeks) period. The number of participants in the growth-writing, expressive-writing, and control groups was 10, 11, and 7 respectively. Analyses were performed using, one-way ANOVA, repeated measurement ANCOVA, and paired sample t-test. Results indicated that, the first hypothesis, which proposed that a growth-writing program would enhance positive world assumptions in survivors of dating violence, was mostly supported. Although scores on world assumptions did not increase significantly immediately after finishing the growth-writing program, they showed significant improvements during the follow-up phase. On the other hand, the second hypothesis, which proposed that a growth-writing program would reduce the fear of intimacy in survivors of dating violence, was proven invalid. This study’s results indicated that, although four days of treatment could not improve the world assumptions of survivors of dating violence, it was confirmed that it could have a positive effect in the long term. However, results also implied that there is a limit for self-disclosure in reducing fear of intimacy in human relationships. Finally, the significance and limitations of the study are described, and suggestions for future research are provided.
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