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Related Experiment Videos

Does marriage and relationship education work? A meta-analytic study.

Alan J Hawkins1, Victoria L Blanchard, Scott A Baldwin

  • 1School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-6723, USA. hawkinsa@byu.edu

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
|October 8, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Marriage and relationship education (MRE) shows positive effects on relationship quality and communication skills. However, research needs more diversity and to examine outcomes like relationship stability.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Family Studies

Background:

  • Marriage and relationship education (MRE) programs aim to improve couple's relationship quality and communication.
  • Existing research provides a basis for understanding MRE effectiveness, but gaps remain regarding diverse populations and key policy-relevant outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct a meta-analytic review of the efficacy of marriage and relationship education (MRE).
  • To examine the impact of MRE on relationship quality and communication skills.
  • To identify factors influencing MRE effectiveness, such as program dosage and publication status.

Main Methods:

  • A comprehensive literature search identified 86 codable reports, encompassing 117 studies and over 500 effect sizes.
  • Meta-analytic techniques were employed to synthesize findings from experimental and quasi-experimental studies.
  • Effect sizes were calculated for relationship quality and communication skills, with moderators like program dosage and publication type analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Experimental studies demonstrated moderate effect sizes for MRE on relationship quality (d = .30–.36) and communication skills (d = .43–.45).
  • Moderate-dosage MRE programs yielded larger effect sizes compared to low-dosage programs.
  • Published studies showed larger effects for communication skills at follow-up than unpublished studies; no publication bias was found for relationship quality.

Conclusions:

  • MRE is an effective intervention for enhancing relationship quality and communication skills.
  • The effectiveness of MRE for diverse and disadvantaged couples remains under-researched due to limited sample diversity.
  • Future research should address policy-relevant outcomes such as relationship stability and aggression and include more diverse populations.