Online relationship education programs improve individual and relationship functioning: A meta‐analytic review

Spencer, Chelsea; Anderson, Jared R.

doi:10.1111/jmft.12491

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…(The dosage difference was confounded by the highest dosage studies all being in the OPRE study group, so this finding should be interpreted cautiously.) Also, online programs (that were some of the lowest dosage programs reviewed) produced some of the largest effect sizes in this study (d = .26, k = 4) and in studies of online programs not reviewed here (see Spencer & Anderson, 2021). Doss, Knopp et al (2020) have speculated that online delivery of CRE attracts couples with greater motivation to improve their relationship (in the "action" stage of change) and gets the intervention to them in a more timely way.…”

Section: Moderators Of Program Effectsmentioning

confidence: 59%

How effective are ACF‐funded couple relationship education programs? A meta‐analytic study

et al. 2022

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Since 2006, the U.S. Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has allocated $1.2 billion to a Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) policy initiative that provides grants to community organizations to support relationship education (RE) services for lower income couples and individuals. The policy aim was to help disadvantaged couples and individuals form and sustain healthy, stable relationships and marriages. A significant body of research on the effectiveness of these programs has now accumulated. This meta-analytic study reviews all evaluation research reports of adult couple relationship education (CRE) programs supported by the ACF policy initiative to examine their impact on an array of couple, family, and individual well-being outcomes. Overall, our review of 32 control-group studies found a range of small but significant effects for couple relationship quality (d = .114), relationship skills (d = .132), mental health (d = .074), and coparenting (d = .033), but non-significant effects for relationship stability, parenting, and child well-being. Supplemental analyses with 19 1-group/pre-post studies showed larger effects. Planned moderator analyses explored significant heterogeneity in most effects, however, revealing interesting implications for practice and research going forward.

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Section: Moderators Of Program Effectsmentioning

confidence: 59%

How effective are ACF‐funded couple relationship education programs? A meta‐analytic study

et al. 2022

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“…The results indicated that the perceived quality of the partner's response to one's own COVID‐related stress predicted relationship satisfaction maintenance pre‐ to post‐COVID outbreak. Therefore, interventions aimed at strengthening partners' responsiveness and dyadic coping may be useful for partners when traversing these difficult times, especially approaches that can be delivered through a self‐directed, online platform (Spencer & Anderson, 2021 ), which is better suited to social‐distancing regulations. For example, Bodenmann and Shantinath ( 2004 ) developed an empirically based dyadic skill‐learning intervention targeting partners' dyadic coping.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship satisfaction during COVID‐19: The role of partners' perceived support and attachment

2022

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Objective The main goal of this study was to examine the interplay between individuals' attachment insecurity and their perceptions of their partners' COVID‐related behaviors (supportive and negative behaviors) in predicting their relationship satisfaction. Background Stress is a well‐documented risk factor for relationship satisfaction. COVID‐19 related stressors thus pose a challenge to maintaining relationship satisfaction. Although partners' supportive behaviors can play a central role in mitigating these stressors, enduring individual vulnerabilities, such as attachment insecurity, are likely to moderate the effectiveness of supportive (or negative) behaviors. Method In this two‐wave study, conducted at the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Israel, 239 participants in cohabiting Israeli couples reported their current relationship satisfaction and perceived partners' supportive and negative behaviors in response to COVID‐related stress. Participants' pre‐COVID reports of relationship satisfaction and attachment orientations were used to assess the extent to which partners' supportive/negative behaviors interacted with attachment orientations to predict relationship satisfaction maintenance during the first lockdown in Israel. Results Higher levels of support and lower levels of negative behaviors were associated with greater relationship satisfaction maintenance. Anxiously attached individuals showed greater sensitivity to their partners' support, whereas avoidantly attached individuals manifested lower reactivity to their partners' negative behaviors. Conclusions Perceived partners' supportive and negative behaviors can predict relationship satisfaction during stressful times. However, high attachment anxiety and low attachment avoidance may render individuals more sensitive to such behaviors. Implications The results suggest that during times of stress, it is essential to target partners with attachment insecurity to strengthen their supportive skills.

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“…Recognizing distressed and disrupted partnerships as key insertion points for men’s mental health promotion programs is critical. Upstream, as Spencer and Anderson (2021) suggest, there are protective benefits in equipping men with relationships skills through online programs. Herewith, we might reduce the potential for dire mental illness outcomes through prevention as well as anticipating and supporting men through the mental health challenges that are known to accompany relationship break-ups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Men’s Mental Health Help-Seeking After an Intimate Partner Relationship Break-Up

et al. 2022

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Deleterious effects of separation and divorce on men’s mental health are well-documented; however, little is known about their help-seeking when adjusting to these all-too-common life transitions. Employing interpretive descriptive methods, interviews with 47 men exploring their mental health help-seeking after a relationship break-up were analyzed in deriving three themes: (1) Solitary work and tapping established connections, (2) Reaching out to make new connections, and (3) Engaging professional mental health care. Men relying on solitary work and established connections accessed relationship-focused self-help books, online resources, and confided in friends and/or family. Some participants supplemented solitary work by reaching out to make new connections including peer-based men’s groups and education and social activities. Comprising first-time, returning, and continuing users, many men responded to relationship break-up crises by engaging professional mental health care. The findings challenge longstanding commentaries that men actively avoid mental health promotion by illuminating wide-ranging help resources.

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Online relationship education programs improve individual and relationship functioning: A meta‐analytic review

Cited by 14 publications

References 43 publications

How effective are ACF‐funded couple relationship education programs? A meta‐analytic study

How effective are ACF‐funded couple relationship education programs? A meta‐analytic study

Relationship satisfaction during COVID‐19: The role of partners' perceived support and attachment

Mapping Men’s Mental Health Help-Seeking After an Intimate Partner Relationship Break-Up

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