The impact of a marriage enrichment program on relationship factors

Abstract

This study represented a continuing effort to assess the effects of a marriage enrichment program previously used by Kilmann, Moreault, and Robinson. Eleven couples who responded to newspaper and radio announcements received fair-fight training followed by sexual enhancement. Six couples recruited in the same manner received no treatment but responded to the measures at the same time intervals as the experimental couples. In comparison with the control couples the experimental couples reported a significant increase in marital adjustment and significantly greater actualized relationship. From a videotaped problem-solving task the experimental couples were rated as exhibiting significantly more positive communication patterns than the control couples. The findings offer support for the marriage enrichment program, although larger samples are needed to determine which treatment components are most beneficial for defined couples.

Sexual enhancement programs: An examination of their current status and directions for future research

“…Two other studies (Kilmann, Julian, & Moreault, 1978;Kilmann, Moreault, & Robinson, 1978) also fail to assess directly any specific dimension of the subject couples' sexual relationship. Therefore, despite the fact that fully one half of this program deals with a LoPiccolo and Miller (1975a) type of SEP (the other half training couples in the fair-fight techniques of Bach & Bernard, 1971), it is impossible to ascertain empirically whether there were any significant changes in the couples' sexual relationship.…”