Relationship education programs such as Ehevorbereitung–Ein Partnerschaftliches Lernprogramm (Premarital Preparation–A Couples’ Learning Program) and the Relationship Education and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) can help prevent marital distress among newlyweds. Thus, it is important to understand which couples respond best to the intervention and which couples respond less well. E. A. Schilling, D. H. Baucom, C. […]

This contains the text of Wade Horn’s presentation at the Human Services Policy Center Forum, December 2, 2002 in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Horn outlines what the government should and should not do on the marriage promotion front. Audience questions and Dr. Horn’s answers are included.

One of the limitations of experimental studies on the effectiveness of premarital education is the reliance on samples of mostly White, middle-class couples. In contrast, although survey methods allow only weak inferences about causal relations, representative surveys can yield important information about use and estimated effects across a diverse population. Using a large random survey […]

This paper presents a brief review of the existing literature and then focus on data andconceptualization that has driven us toward testable hypotheses that we believe hold particularpromise for elucidation of the cohabitation effect. We will conclude this paper with a list ofpropositional statements or hypotheses to guide future study-some closer to existing findingsand some […]

This Power Point presentation discusses findings on marriage and divorce rates and their relationship to poverty, and describes components of a marriage education program. It begins by sharing information on the characteristics of low-income marriages, cohabiting families, and single mothers. Reasons for not marrying and for divorce among low-income families are identified, and implications for […]

This brief explores how attitudes toward welfare, nonmarital childbearing, and work differ between mothers who have recently received welfare payments and mothers who have not recently received welfare. Differences in attitudes may be important to public policy because attitudes mayinfluence behavior. For example, a mother with a young child who believes that mothers should not […]

This testimony given before the Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy of the U.S. Senate, discusses the following components of a healthy marriage: safety in interaction that allows couple to talk openly and well about key issues, with the strongest expressions of such safety including emotional safety and support; personal safety that includes freedom […]

Research supports the anecdotal observation that unmarried mothers and their children face greater obstacles and suffer greater strains than married couples and their children. Much less is known about the specific characteristics of the women who have births outside of marriage. This research brief paints a fuller picture of nonmarital childbearing. The data presented here […]