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The transition to parenthood has been repeatedly identified as a stressful period, with couples reporting difficulties in domains of individual, coparenting, and relationship functioning. Moreover, these difficulties have been shown to impact children’s development. To buffer against these difficulties, numerous effective parenting, couple, and combined interventions have been developed; however, these interventions are typically lengthy, which limits their potential for dissemination. Therefore, in the present study, we developed and tested separate six-hour interventions that focused exclusively on improving either coparenting or relationship functioning. In a randomized control trial, 90 heterosexual couples (180 individuals) were randomly assigned to an information control group, a coparenting intervention, or a relationship intervention and assessed on seven occasions during the two years following birth. Results revealed that women and high-risk men in both the couple and coparenting interventions showed fewer declines in relationship satisfaction (Cohen’s d = 0.53–0.99) and other areas of relationship functioning. Women also reported improved coparenting in both intervention groups (Cohen’s d = 0.47–1.06). Additionally, women in both interventions experienced less perceived stress during the first year after birth. Given similar effects of the two interventions on coparenting and relationship functioning, future dissemination may be enhanced by delivery of coparenting interventions, as coparenting (compared to relationship) interventions seem to attract more interest from couples and are likely easier to integrate into existing services.

Although previous research has demonstrated increased relationship distress and separation for cohabiting couples, little is known about specific problems cohabiting individuals encounter in comparison to dating and married individuals. This study examines open-ended reports of 1,252 individuals' (220 dating, 231 cohabiting, and 801 married) relationship concerns using a detailed, reliable coding system. The top 5 areas considered most problematic by cohabiting individuals were problems in specific areas of their current relationship, individual problems, general communication, arguments, and emotional affection-distance. Dating and cohabiting individuals reported similar frequencies of global problems except that cohabiting individuals reported more problems with arguments and fewer problems with relationship commitment. Married and cohabiting individuals had more differences in their reports of relationship concerns; results suggested that cohabiting relationships tended to be both more vibrant and more volatile than marital relationships. However, most differences between relationship types were no longer significant after controlling for individuals' relationship and demographic characteristics.

this study explored the relations between eating, weight, and shape (eWS) concerns and romantic relationships in college women and their partners. eightyeight heterosexual couples (176 individuals) completed two assessments spaced two months apart. results indicated that neither women's relationship functioning nor perceptions of their partners' desired changes in their bodies predicted changes in women's eWS concerns. however, after controlling for women's values, men's relationship functioning, as well as men's desired change in their partners' bodies, predicted changes in women's eWS concerns. there was partial support for the idea that eWS constructs would predict changes in relationship functioning; specifically, several types of women's eWS concerns predicted changes in women's and men's relationship outcomes two months later. additionally, after controlling for women's perceptions, men's desired change in their partners' bodies predicted change in women's relationship outcomes. overall, this study found some support for the bidirectional nature of relations between women's eWS concerns and their romantic relationship functioning, and it highlighted the importance of obtaining men's reports when exploring these relations.

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