Evaluate your programOngoing evaluation of your healthy marriage and relationship program will allow you to identify whether you are meeting your program’s overall goals and objectives. This information will significantly enhance your ability to effectively manage and grow your program.

Program evaluation allows you to answer questions such as:

  • Are you serving your target population?
  • What are the demographics and characteristics of your participants?
  • Do your participants attend all of your classes or do you experience participation drop-off?
  • Do participants like your class?
  • Do they report any changes in their attitudes or opinions concerning marriage?
  • Did they learn the skills and concepts you were teaching?
  • Do they change their behavior as a result of participating in your class?

Evaluation methods range from hiring an expert from a research firm or university to conduct a sophisticated evaluation to using simple tools, forms, and methods to evaluate your program’s activities and effectiveness.

Below are resources you can use to develop your own program evaluation.

Evaluation Textbooks and General Resources

  • Evaluation Toolkit and Logic Model Builder – As a service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Child Welfare Information Gateway, provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families.
  • Center for Program Evaluation – Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) online evaluation tools for state and local agencies for planning and implementing program evaluations and for developing program performance measures.
  • CDC Evaluation Working Group Resources
  • Weiss, C. (1998). Evaluation (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NM: Prentice Hall.

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Survey Design Resources

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Data Analysis Resources

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Measurement Resources

Additional Resources:

  • Ahlborg, T., L.O. Persson and L.R.M. Hallberg. (2005). Assessing the quality of the dyadic relationship in first-time parents: Development of a new instrument. Journal of Family Nursing, 11(1): 19-37.
  • Cron, E.A. (2000). Couple Rating Scale: Clarifying problems. The Family Journal, 8(3): 302-304.
  • Jones, W.H., J.M. Adams, and J.O. Berry. (1995). A psychometric exploration of marital satisfaction and commitment. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 10(4): 923-932.
  • Lowell, K.E. and J.J. Conley. (1987). Personality and compatibility: A prospective analysis of marital stability and marital satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 27-40.
  • Mikulincer, M., et al. (2002). Attachment security in couple relationships. A systemic model and its implication for family dynamics. Family Process, 41(3): 405-434.
  • Moore, K.A. and L.H. Lippman (Eds.). (2005). What do children need to flourish? Conceptualizing and measuring indicators of positive development. The Search Institute Series on Developmentally Attentive Community and Society, Vol. 3
  • Roach, A.J., L.P. Frazier, and S.R. Bowden. (1981). The Marital Satisfaction Scale: Development of a measure for intervention research. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 43(3): 537-546.
  • Vaughn, M.J. and M.E.M. Baier. (1999). Reliability and validity of the Relationship Assessment Scale. American Journal of Family Therapy, 27(2): 137-147.
  • West, C.E. (2005). Clinical utility and validation of the Couple’s Communicative Evaluation Scale. Psychological Reports, 97(2): 599-622.

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Evaluation Model Design Resources

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Logic Model Resources

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Human Subjects and Institutional Review Board Resources

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Reporting and Results Implications Resources

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A Selection of Peer-Reviewed, Published Marriage Education Evaluations

  • Carroll, J.S. and W.J. Doherty. (2003). Evaluating the effectiveness of premarital prevention programs: A meta-analytic review of outcome research. Family Relations, 52(2): 105-118.
  • Gardner, S.P., K. Giese, and S.M. Parrott. (2004). Evaluation of the connections: Relationships and marriage curriculum. Family Relations, 53(5): 521’527.
  • Hahlweg, K., et al. (1998). Prevention of marital distress: Results of a German prospective longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology, 12(4): 543-556.
  • Halford, W.K, et al. (2004). Benefits of flexible delivery relationship education: An evaluation of the “Couple CARE” program. Family Relations, 53(5): 469-476.
  • Hawkins, A.J., et al. (2006). The “Marriage Moments” program for couples transitioning to parenthood: Divergent conclusions from formative and outcome evaluation data. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(4): 561-570.
  • Markman, H.J., et al. (2004). Use of an empirically based marriage education program by religious organizations: Results of a dissemination trial. Family Relations, 53(5): 504-512.
  • Nickols, S.A., D.G. Fournier and S.Y. Nickols. (1986). Evaluation of a preparation for marriage workshop. Family Relations, 35(4): 563-571.
  • Rowden, T.J. S.M. Harris and R.F. Stahmann. (2006). Group premarital counseling using a premarital assessment questionnaire: Evaluation from group leaders. American Journal of Family Therapy, 34(1): 47-61.
  • Shapiro, A.F. and J.M. Gottman. (2005). Effects on marriage of a psycho-communicative-educational intervention with couples undergoing the transition to parenthood: Evaluation at 1 year post-intervention. Journal of Family Communication, 5(1): 1-24.
  • Stanley, S.M., et al. (2005). Dissemination and evaluation of marriage education in the Army. Family Process, 44(2): 187-201.

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  • Marriage And Relationship Educators