Elsevier

Behavior Therapy

Volume 43, Issue 1, March 2012, Pages 77-87
Behavior Therapy

Exploring Programmatic Moderators of the Effectiveness of Marriage and Relationship Education Programs: A Meta-Analytic Study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2010.12.006Get rights and content

Abstract

This study uses meta-analytic methods to explore programmatic moderators or common factors of the effectiveness of marriage and relationship education (MRE) programs. We coded 148 evaluation reports for potential programmatic factors that were associated with stronger intervention effects, although the range of factors we could code was limited by the lack of details in the reports. Overall, we found a positive effect for program dosage: moderate-dosage programs (9–20 contact hours) were associated with stronger effects compared to low-dosage programs (1–8 contact hours). A programmatic emphasis on communication skills was associated with stronger effects on couple communication outcomes, but this difference did not reach statistical significance for the relationship quality/satisfaction outcome. There was no evidence that institutionalized MRE programs (formal manuals, ongoing presence, formal instructor training, multiple evaluations) were associated with stronger effects. Similarly, there was little evidence of differences in program setting (university/laboratory vs. religious). We discuss possible explanations for these findings and implications for program design and evaluation.

Highlights

► Moderate-dosage programs (9–20 contact hours) were associated with stronger effects compared to low-dosage programs (1–8 contact hours). ► A programmatic emphasis on communication skills was associated with stronger effects on couple communication outcomes. ► Institutionalized MRE programs were not associated with stronger effects.

Section snippets

Method

In this meta-analytic study, we coded 148 reports to begin to search for programmatic moderators or common factors of the effectiveness of MRE programs. Some of these reports examined more than one intervention condition (against a control group or against a different treatment condition), generating multiple studies within a report (Lipsey & Wilson, 2001). The two most common generic outcomes evaluated in these studies were relationship quality or satisfaction and some form of couple

Program Participants

The large majority of MRE program participants were involved in marital enrichment programs (83%); 17% were involved in premarital education for engaged couples. Sample modal age was between 30 and 35. Sample modal education was “some college.” Only a small number of studies had significant numbers of lower-income and non-White participants, even though studies with more disadvantaged and diverse samples have increased in recent years (Hawkins & Fackrell, 2010). We revisit the implications of

Discussion

This study used meta-analytic methods to search for programmatic common factors of MRE effectiveness. The lack of program detail provided in study reports and the general lack of pedagogical diversity in MRE programs limited the range of potential moderators we could examine. Thus, our study is only an initial attempt to understand common factors in MRE. Additional meta-analytic approaches using more creative and fine-grained coding of MRE programs may improve our understanding. Careful

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  • Cited by (0)

    Scott Stanley's work on this paper was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD48780). A list of references of coded studies included in this meta-analysis is available upon request from the first author.

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