This paper presents a longitudinal study of the development of family interactions from pregnancy to toddlerhood, and their link to parents’ marital satisfaction. The participants consisted of 38 non referred primiparous families. We used an observational setting, the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP), to evaluate the family alliance, namely the interactive coordination between family members. Families […]

Review of the literature about evaluation design shows that there are strengths and weaknesses for both the traditional pre/post and the post then pre methods when collecting data from program participants. In general, both methods address the need to assess participant change from program beginning to completion. Whether or not the preferred instrument should collect […]

Adopting M. Segal’s framework, we focused on examining four military lifestyle demands –(1) risk of service member injury or death, (2) frequent relocations, (3) periodic separations, and (4) foreign residence — and their relationships to psychological and physical well-being, satisfaction with the Army, and marital satisfaction. Questionnaire results from 346 spouses living overseas indicated that […]

Research on marriage has been dominated by an untested assumption that individualism reigns supreme in marriage. An individualistic perspective of marriage focuses on the benefits that partners derive from the relationship, and views the contributions that partners make to a relationship as investments that will provide a return of satisfaction, intimacy, support, and reward. Professional […]

Previous empirical examinations of the causes of racial differences in marital disruption have focused on economic and demographic factors. In this paper I use data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) to analyze the effects of a wide range of premarital characteristics, including expressed attitudes, on the African-American/non-African American marital disruption gap. […]

This fact sheet can be used to plan treatment and to measure treatment outcomes related to healthymarriage/couple relationships.

This study investigated the influence of infants’ sleep and crying on marital relationship in first-time parent couples (N = 107) during the 1st year after birth. Control variables are parents’ insomnia and parental self-efficacy in handling the baby. Questionnaires were administered to both parents before birth, at 2 and 7 weeks after birth, and at […]

Investigated the Stepfamily Enrichment Program designed to help stepfamilies successfully negotiate the process of family formation. This study was a pilot test, using data generated from a focus group interview, to provide preliminary, evaluative information on program effectiveness. Eight remarried couples (mean age 38 yrs) reported positive behavior and attitude changes in themselves and other […]