In a survey of 200 couples attending a weekend workshop, Dr. Gottman found that the best predictor of passion and romance in a relationship was the quality of the friendship. In his workshops, he discusses the step-by-step process of making sure that partners nurture their friendship. This quiz highlights elements of what Dr. Gottman refers […]

This publication takes an empirical look at four dimensions of the changing 20s. First, what the author regard as revolutionary shifts in the balance between young men and young women in education, employment, and earnings. Second, rapid changes in patterns of marriage and cohabitation. Third, changes in relations between 20-somethings and their parents regarding living […]

There are few areas in life that require skillful social problem solving as consistently as marriage. Differences between partners and the resulting friction are part of the natural fabric of marriage, and how successfully partners cope with those inevitable relationship problems determines how healthy their marriage will be. Marital therapy was among the first to […]

Addressing potential weaknesses in an earlier investigation, the authors examined the latent structure of marital discord using 4 product indicators from the Marital Satisfaction Inventory–Revised (Snyder, 1997) in a representative sample of community couples (N = 1,020). Results from 3 taxometric procedures suggested that marital discord is taxonic, with an estimated base rate of .31. […]

This bilingual (English and Spanish) multimedia outreach program is designed to support military families with children between the ages of two and five who are experiencing deployment, multiple deployments, or a parent's return home changed due to a combat-related injury. Contents include: Materials: -Magazine for Parents and Caregivers (PDF) -Children's Poster (PDF) -Facilitator Guide (PDF) […]

In this meta-analytic study, the authors examined the efficacy of marriage and relationship education (MRE) on 2 common outcomes: relationship quality and communication skills. A thorough search produced 86 codable reports that yielded 117 studies and more than 500 effect sizes. The effect sizes for relationship quality for experimental studies ranged from d = .30 […]

Deployment, and the family separation that accompanies it, are defining experiences of military life. Researchers have studied family separation during deployment in relation to stress, well-being, child behavior problems, declines in marital satisfaction, and attitudes toward reenlistment. When families are unable to successfully adapt to separation, the performance of military members may be undermined. Research […]

This article discusses the rising median age of first marriages from the 1890s to the present: almost 26 for women and almost 28 for men. Reasons people are marrying later are explored, and results from a Gallup telephone poll of about 500 adults are cited that indicate the ideal marrying age has increased to 25 […]

This fact sheet discusses the unique stress a couple feels when a spouse is sent on a combat deployment, tips for writing letters to stay in touch, and coping strategies. Spouses are urged to write on a daily basis and to share difficult situations and problems, develop a daily routine and stick with it, place […]