THE EFFECT OF SOMATIC INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS THERAPY ON MALES AND FEMALES WITH INTERNALIZING BEHAVIOURS IN PAKISTAN EXPERIENCING FAMILY CONFLICTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Abstract

The current study aims to determine the efficacy of Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy (Somatic IFS Therapy) on young adults who are currently experiencing or observing familial conflicts and are experiencing internalizing behavior in a Pakistani population. It was hypothesized that there would be a difference in the internalizing behaviors recorded between males and females. To measure internalizing behaviors, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) was used. This study was quasi-experimental in nature therefore a pre and post-test design was used. The sample consisted of 14 participants between the ages of 20 and 35, experiencing internalizing symptoms and loneliness, while either experiencing or observing an ongoing family conflict. The participants were recruited through purposive sampling. The pretest was administered before the intervention, and then Somatic IFS intervention was applied followed by the post-intervention assessment to measure the effectiveness of intervention. Data was analyzed through SPSS V25. In order to attain findings, paired sample t-test and independent samples t-test were applied. The results showed the hypothesis were disproved and there was no significant difference found between male and female participants. This study gave significant insight into the efficacy of somatic internal family systems therapy on young adults in Pakistan with internalizing behaviours experiencing family conflicts.