The effectiveness of teaching communication skills in reduction of loneliness feeling and depression among widows

Background and Objective: The phenomena of divorce are increasing in our society and sometimes lead to loneliness feeling and depression among widows. So, this study was done with the aim to determine the effectiveness of communication skills teaching on reducing loneliness feeling and depression among divorced women of Shahrood city.

Materials and Methods: The design of this study was experimental with pre-test and post-test and one control group. From 90 divorced women clients of Relief Committee of Shahrood city, 40 widows randomly selected by access sampling according to the criteria of age, education levels and number of children. They were put equally in two groups: experimental group (20 widows) and control group (20 widows). They filled questioners of communication skills, loneliness and depression. Data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate covariance tests.

Results: Results showed that communication skills training could significantly reduce depression, but not the loneliness feeling of samples. Also, communication skills training affected improvement abilities of non-verbal communication and communication skills in widows. In follow up research, it was found out that two groups were significantly different with each other regarding depression, listening skills, communication and non-verbal skills.

Conclusion: According to the results of the data analyzed, it was concluded that communication skills training could reduce depression and increase non-verbal communication and communication skills in widows.