When it comes to the great problems facing our society as a result of marital distress and divorce, there is a legitimate tension between the desire to know more and the desire to act now. Do we wait until more research better informs our efforts, or move forward with the best of what we now know? Of course, these choices are not mutually exclusive. We should conduct more research and we should act on the knowledge that currently exists. What follows is an overview of the issues facing us in the task of preventing marital distress and divorce. Here, we hope to speak to the issues of what we know, what we are encouraged by, and where we need to go from here. There are many issues not considered here that are nonetheless very important. (Author abstract)