Behavioral marital therapy applied in a conjoint and a conjoint-group modality: Short-and long-term effectiveness

A substantive and methodological review of couples group therapy outcome research

“…This search resulted in five studies appropriate for this review (Barlow et al, 1984;Davenport et al, 1977;Moore & Chaney, 1985;O'Farrell & Cutter, 1984;Revenstorf et al, 1983). This article will assess the current status of couples group therapy by reviewing the substantive findings of relevant studies and by evaluating their methodological strengths and limitations and will offer suggestions for future research.…”

“…Unfortunately, all of the studies were investigating different problems, and only two of the studies (O'Farrell & Cutter, 1984;Revenstorf et al, 1983) employed the same theoretical approach thus making any comparisons or syntheses subject to question.…”

“…All of the studies that employed a no-treatment control group (Davenport et al, 1977;Moore & Chaney, 1985;O'Farrell & Cutter, 1984;Revenstorf et al, 1983) found the couples group to be more effective than the no-treatment control group. Barlow et al (1984) did not include a no-treatment group in their design.…”

“…Davenport et al (1977) attempted to compare the marital group format to individual therapy but were unable to identify clearly the individual group from the no-therapy control group, resulting in ambiguous conclusions. Revenstorf et al (1983) compared couples group therapy to conjoint therapy and to a waiting list control group. The inclusion of a comparison group, and in all but one case a no-treatment group as well, was perhaps the strongest component of this body of research, especially in conjunction with random assignment.…”

“…Moore and Chaney (1985) report a 3-month follow-up. Revenstorf et al (1983) completed both a 6-and a 12-month follow-up. Davenport et al (1977) reported the longest follow-up, ranging from 2 to 10 years.…”