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Relational concerns and change in relationship satisfaction in a relationship education program.
Jeremy B Kanter1, Daniel G Lannin2, Amy J Rauer1
1Department of Child and Family Studies, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
Family Process
|February 15, 2023
Summary
Relationship education (RE) programs show small effects for lower income couples. While men’s relationship satisfaction remained high, women’s satisfaction declined over time, indicating a need for more comprehensive support.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Lower income couples often face challenges in maintaining high-quality intimate relationships.
- Policy initiatives support relationship education (RE) programs to improve relationship satisfaction among these couples.
- Existing RE programs yield small but significant improvements in relationship functioning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if RE programming influences the long-term developmental course of intimate relationships.
- To determine if RE's long-term efficacy is moderated by couples' initial relationship concerns.
- To examine differential effects of RE on men's and women's relationship satisfaction trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Utilized dyadic group-based modeling with three waves of data from 6034 couples.
- Employed data from the Supporting Healthy Marriages project, a randomized control trial of RE.
- Categorized couples into four groups based on initial relationship concerns to explore moderation effects.
Main Results:
- RE was associated with different developmental trajectories of relationship satisfaction for men and women.
- Men randomly assigned to RE maintained high relationship satisfaction.
- Women's relationship satisfaction decreased over time, irrespective of initial relationship concerns.
Conclusions:
- RE programming had a small overall association with relationship satisfaction trajectories.
- The effects of RE differed between men and women, with women's satisfaction declining.
- More comprehensive services are likely needed to effectively strengthen lower income couples' intimate relationships.
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