Healthy relationships are nonviolent and allow both men and women to express themselves without fear of being belittled, criticized or having their opinion diminished. The field of marriage education has looked to domestic violence experts to discern how to talk with couples about what is/is not healthy and what to watch for that could signal […]
This Fact Sheet presents data and trends over time in marriage, divorce, cohabitation, and non-marital birthrates for countries in three European regions: Northern Europe, Southern Europe, and Western Europe. Countries for which data are presented include Sweden, Norway and Denmark; Italy, Portugal, and Spain; and the United Kingdom, France and Germany. For purposes of comparison, […]
This website provides resources for facilitators teaching marriage and relationship education classes. Links are given for information that addresses adult learning styles and dealing with difficult class participants, as well as for quizzes for assessing learning styles and teaching styles. Descriptions of three different types of class activities is provided, including activities designed to break […]
Designed for marriage practitioners, this brief explains the importance of commitment in marriage. Strategies that can be shared with couples to enhance their commitment are listed and include: create a commitment statement, greet each other personally and physically each day, talk and stay connected about hopes, dreams, and stresses, spend both quality and quantity time […]
This brief defines forgiveness and then explains the difficulties facilitators may encounter when teaching forgiveness in marriage and relationship (MRE) education classes. Strategies that can be shared with couples are listed and include: reflect on your mutual behaviors during the day and focus on actions that are life-giving and kind, spend little time reflecting on […]
Designed for marriage practitioners, this brief explains the influence of maturity on a person’s ability to truly commit to a relationship for life and understand that commitment implies giving up all other partner choices. The impact of maturity on the ability to forgive, to take personal responsibility, and to communicate effectively is also discussed, and […]
This brief explains that faith-based marriage promotion and education programs incorporate tenets of religious faith into operating principles regarding issues of marriage and family life. Key components of the programs are described and specific programs are profiled, including: Marriage Savers, Catholic Engaged Encounter, PAIRS, PREP, Reconciling God’s Way, the Third Option, the Caring Couples Network, […]
Designed for marriage practitioners, this brief explains the importance of trust in relationships and offers strategies for teaching the value of trust to couples. The keys to trust are explained and include investing time in each other, reliability, understanding, sacrifice, and thankfulness.
This brief lists resources available to assist healthy marriage programs in delivering and enhancing services to Hispanic couples and families. Information is provided on national organizations and State and local Healthy Marriage Initiatives and coalitions. Excerpts are then provided from various working papers developed by the Hispanic Healthy Marriage Initiative to support program administrators as […]
The United States federal government releases data on rates of marriage and divorce in most years, along with information on the percentage of children living with two parents and single parents. Stories based on these statistics often appear in the media. Many people, however, are confused by these data–how these numbers should be interpreted and […]