A Randomized Controlled Trial of Relationship Education in the U.S. Army: 2‐Year Outcomes

Stanley, Scott M.; Rhoades, Galena K.; Loew, Benjamin; Allen, Elizabeth S.; Carter, Sarah; Osborne, Laura J.; Prentice, Donnella L.; Markman, Howard J.

doi:10.1111/fare.12083

Cited by 63 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…As described by Stanley et al (2014), there were 53 cohorts randomly assigned and 27 iterations of the intervention. After each iteration’s intervention was complete, spouses completed another set of measures separately (“post”).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can marriage education mitigate the risks associated with premarital cohabitation?

Rhoades

Stanley

Markman

et al. 2015

Journal of Family Psychology

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This study tested whether relationship education (i.e., the Prevention and Relationship Education Program; PREP) can mitigate the risk of having cohabited before making a mutual commitment to marry (i.e., “pre-commitment cohabitation”) for marital distress and divorce. Using data from a study of PREP for married couples in the U.S. Army (N = 662 couples), we found that there was a significant association between pre-commitment cohabitation and lower marital satisfaction and dedication before random-assignment to intervention. After intervention, this pre-commitment cohabitation effect was only apparent in the control group. Specifically, significant interactions between intervention condition and cohabitation history indicated that for the control group, but not the PREP group, pre-commitment cohabitation was associated with lower dedication as well as declines in marital satisfaction and increases in negative communication over time. Further, those with pre-commitment cohabitation were more likely to divorce by the two-year follow up only in the control group; there were no differences in divorce based on premarital cohabitation history in the PREP group. These findings are discussed in light of current research on cohabitation and relationship education; potential implications are also considered.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can marriage education mitigate the risks associated with premarital cohabitation?

Rhoades

Stanley

Markman

et al. 2015

Journal of Family Psychology

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“…Two papers from this study have assessed longer term outcomes: Stanley et al (2010) assessed divorce for Site 1 at one year post intervention, whereas Stanley et al (2014) assessed divorce and marital quality outcomes for both sites at two years post intervention. At Site 1, one year after intervention, 19 couples had divorced.…”

Section: Summary Of Disseminated Outcome Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of the small number of divorces at Site 2, Stanley et al (2014) elected to exclude this site from analyses examining divorce as an outcome. That is, the number of divorces at Site 2 was too small to identify stable, meaningful effects, and too small to test for moderation by site (see p. 488 in Stanley et al, 2014).…”

Section: Summary Of Disseminated Outcome Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the variability of specific subsamples and timepoints used per study has resulted in some differences in the CONSORT table between papers. For the purposes of this review, we use the data reported on in Stanley et al (2014) that had the broadest set of parameters (i.e., both sites, two year outcomes, virtually all couples evaluated on divorce outcomes) to develop the flow chart shown in Figure 1. As seen in Figure 1, there are a large number (698) couples in the “other” category for non-participation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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PREP for Strong Bonds: A Review of Outcomes from a Randomized Clinical Trial

et al. 2015

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To help address the relationship needs of service members, there have been a number of programs offered within active duty and veteran contexts. One program, offered within the Strong Bonds portfolio delivered by Army Chaplains, is PREP for Strong Bonds (PREP = the Prevention and Relationship Education Program). PREP has a number of empirically based and tested variants. This article reviews the disseminated research regarding results from a large randomized clinical trial designed to test the effectiveness of PREP for Strong Bonds. From a sample of 662 Army couples drawn from two sites, outcome papers have focused on different subsamples, marital outcomes, follow up time points, and moderators. Reviewing these disseminated outcomes, we conclude that PREP for Strong Bonds has significant divorce reduction effects at one site; these divorce effects were found at both one and two years post intervention, and were moderated by factors such as minority status, economic strain, and cohabitation history of the couple. In terms of marital quality outcomes, some modest overall effects were found pre to post intervention, but there were no overall marital quality outcome effects two years post intervention. However, marital quality outcomes are significantly moderated by infidelity and cohabitation history, with couples reporting these risk factors showing greater positive marital quality outcomes. These results to date are discussed in terms of clinical and research implications as well as directions for future work, such as examining longer term preventative effects.

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“…The intervention was administered by Army chaplains in a group format and involved approximately fourteen hours of education and skills training. High-risk couples in the intervention condition were significantly less likely to have divorced at a two-year follow-up than couples who received a notreatment control (8.1% vs 14.9%; Allen, Rhoades, Markman, & Stanley, 2015;Stanley et al, 2014). Communication skills were also significantly improved at post-test , although this effect was not maintained at follow-up.…”

Section: Relationship Education Adaptations For Military Couplesmentioning

confidence: 91%

Relationship education for military couples: the development and randomised controlled trial of Couple CARE in Uniform

Bakhurst¹

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Military couple relationships have a number of risk and protective factors that set them apart from civilian couples. Financial and job security, subsidised housing and healthcare, and cost-free support services provide advantages to military couples. On the other hand, frequent relocations, separations, and deployments are associated with social and employment difficulties for spouses, emotional disconnection, trauma-related health problems, and relationship distress. These factors give military couples a distinctive risk and resiliency profile that might make them ideal candidates for relationship education (RE). RE programs need to be tailored to address the special needs of military couples, to ensure content is seen as relevant, and delivered in a format that increases access and flexibility within the unpredictable military lifestyle. This dissertation makes the case for military RE, presenting best practice recommendations for tailoring interventions for use with this special population. Cross-sectional research was conducted to investigate the role of communication and dyadic coping in military couple relationships, to test key assumptions that underpin the design and content of military RE. Communication was found to partially mediate the association between trauma symptoms and relationship satisfaction, with findings suggesting that communication normally considered negative might be adaptive in some couples. Common dyadic coping, in which couples work together to develop strategies to cope with stress, was found to be associated with relationship satisfaction. The implications of these findings for military RE are discussed. A military-specific adaptation of the Couple CARE program, Couple CARE in Uniform, was developed and tested by randomised controlled trial with a sample of 32 Australian military couples, against a self-directed reading control. Couples saw reliable improvement in relationship satisfaction and communication, however no difference was found between the two conditions.

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A Randomized Controlled Trial of Relationship Education in the U.S. Army: 2‐Year Outcomes

Cited by 63 publications

References 53 publications

Can marriage education mitigate the risks associated with premarital cohabitation?

Can marriage education mitigate the risks associated with premarital cohabitation?

PREP for Strong Bonds: A Review of Outcomes from a Randomized Clinical Trial

Relationship education for military couples: the development and randomised controlled trial of Couple CARE in Uniform

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