Project Relate Oklahoma (PRO) is a pioneering, 15-year effort designed to create and sustain stable Oklahoma families. The governor of Oklahoma launched the initiative in 1999 to combat the negative consequences for children of Oklahoma’s high divorce and nonmarital birth rates. Since that time, PRO has evolved into the nation’s most robust, longest running statewide […]
This paper explores effects of the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) program for six subgroups of couples in the study. SHM’s impacts were generally consistent across these subgroups, though some evidence suggests that couples whose marriages were more distressed at study entry may have benefited more from SHM. Overview on MDRC Website
This report provides detailed summaries of major research investments by OPRE’s Division of Family Strengthening (DFS) along with brief overviews of past projects. The featured projects cover topics that include strengthening relationships within families, supporting fatherhood, nurturing children through their families, reducing teen pregnancy, and supporting youth in their transition to adulthood. The report also […]
This research brief, from the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families, provides a national portrait of low-income Hispanic families in the U.S. Having a better understanding of these families will help programs and policymakers in their efforts to assist these families. We use recent nationally-representative data to describe the relationship and childbearing histories […]
Everyday gratitude serves as a booster to romantic relationships and binds couples together. Check out these resources to learn more: It's the Little Things: Everyday Gratitude as a Booster Shot for Romantic Relationships. (journal article) To Have and to Hold: Gratitude Promotes Relationship Maintenance in Intimate Bond. (journal article) What is Gratitude? (essay) Why Does […]
Dr. Gordon’s study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology explores the role of gratitude and appreciation in maintaining long and healthy relationships. In the study, 50 committed couples were given a week to fill out appreciation journals. On days when one partner reported feeling more appreciated, he or she tended to appreciate his […]
The World Family Map is a comprehensive report that identifies and tracks family factors affecting child and family well-being, across 60 countries. The study reveals that in all regions of the world the family itself is undergoing major changes, with declining fertility rates, declining marriage and increasing cohabitation rates, and increasing proportions of children living […]
Higher levels of gratitude after receiving thoughtful benefits (e.g. gifts, favors, etc.) predicted higher relationship connection and satisfaction. Read more about the power of gratitude at the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley.
he authors examine the implications of health and personality characteristics for late-life marital conflict using data from the 2010–2011 wave of the National Social Life Health and Aging Project, a nationally representative study with data on both partners in 955 marital and cohabitational dyads. Using these data, they relate characteristics of husbands to characteristics of […]
Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) was a yearlong voluntary marriage education program to help strengthen couples' relationships. SHM had small sustained positive effects on marital quality more than a year after the program ended but did not achieve its objectives of leading more couples to stay together or improving children’s well-being. MDRC SHM Overview Link