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Relationship Education for Incarcerated Adults.
Kate Taylor Harcourt1, Francesca Adler-Baeder2, Amy Rauer2
1East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Family Process
|July 16, 2015
Summary
Relationship education programs show positive effects for incarcerated adults, improving couple, individual, and parental functioning. These benefits were observed across most participants, regardless of their background characteristics.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Psychology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Relationship education (RE) programs are increasingly implemented, necessitating evaluation across diverse populations.
- Research on RE impact among disadvantaged groups, particularly incarcerated individuals, remains limited.
- Previous studies on RE in correctional settings focused narrowly on couples and couple functioning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the effects of RE on a broader sample of incarcerated adults, including those not currently in a relationship.
- To assess RE's impact on individual and parental functioning, extending beyond couple dynamics.
- To investigate if individual characteristics moderate changes observed after RE participation.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 122 incarcerated adults participated in the study.
- Pre- and post-intervention measures assessed couple, individual, and parental functioning.
- Statistical analyses examined changes in functioning and moderation by individual characteristics.
Main Results:
- Positive changes were observed in couple, individual, and parental functioning domains.
- Significant changes were found for five out of eight outcome variables.
- The positive impact of RE on most outcomes was consistent across participants, irrespective of individual characteristics.
Conclusions:
- Relationship education demonstrates efficacy in improving multiple domains of functioning for incarcerated adults.
- The findings support the broader application of RE in correctional settings.
- RE interventions appear robust, yielding positive results across diverse individuals within this population.
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