This article presents a 5-year prospective longitudinal study exploring the effects of stress and individual and dyadic coping on relationship stability among couples in Switzerland. Stress and coping variables assessed at the beginning of the study (t1) were used as predictors for the relationship status five years later (i.e., stable-satisfied; stable-distressed; separated/divorced). At the time of first measurement, all three groups differed significantly in their stress and individual and dyadic coping profiles. On average, the stable-satisfied couples were characterized by a lower level of stress, practiced less dysfunctional individual coping strategies, and relied more frequently on interpersonal (dyadic) coping when dealing with stress. At the end of the five-year period, it was possible to classify couples with 62.1% accuracy into one of three groups-stable-satisfied, stable-distressed, or separated/divorced.

No abstract

This article presents a new preventive approach (Couples Coping Enhancement Training: CCET) aimed at expanding upon the scope of current prevention programs by focussing on stress issues and individual and dyadic coping skills. The cognitive behavioral prevention program is based on stress and coping research in couples and seeks to improve important skills with an 18-hour course. The effectiveness of the approach is examined with respect to 143 couples over a period of one year. The results show that couples participating in the program benefit in terms of a significant increase in marital quality and that intervention couples appraise their relationship even after one year as substantially improved in a number of domains (quality of marital communication, intimacy etc.). Our results support the importance of prevention for couples with low marital satisfaction even if they have been living together for many years.

This article focuses upon a new preventive approach designed to improve personal stress management skills. The Coping Enhancement Training (CET) is derived from the Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET) and encompasses both an individual and a dyadic aspect. In this study, only the individual element is described. The training is based upon the transactional stress concepts of Lazarus and his coworkers and the further development of this approach by Perrez and Reicherts (1992). Personal coping skills are practiced over a six-hour period by means of theoretical, diagnostic and practical work. This article presents the rationale and content of the program, as well as data concerning the effectiveness of this approach after a period of two years. The data shows that subjects participating in the program displayed better individual coping skills (e.g. active problem-solving and positive self-verbalization) after the training and that they relied upon dysfunctional coping strategies (e.g. rumination and blaming strategies) less often even after two years.

No abstract