Examining Parental Alliance for Low-Income Participants Who Attended Relationship Education With or Without a Partner

Carlson, Ryan G.; Barden, Sejal M.; Daire, Andrew P.; Swartz, Melissa

doi:10.1080/15332691.2013.871615

Cited by 12 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…However, in a meta-analysis of relationship education programs-heavily weighted toward two large-scale national dissemination effortslow-income couples failed to show a significant between-groups effect on couples' coparenting (Cohen's d ϭ 0.03; Hawkins & Erickson, 2015). In contrast, uncontrolled designs consistently show significant within-group improvements in low-income couples' coparenting/parental alliance (Adler-Baeder et al, 2013;Carlson et al, 2014). For example, the same meta-analysis previously described found a significant, small-sized intervention effect on coparenting (within-group d ϭ 0.251; Hawkins & Erickson, 2015).…”

Section: Relationship Interventions Improve the Coparenting Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvements in coparenting conflict and child adjustment following an online program for relationship distress.

Doss¹,

Roddy²,

Llabre³

et al. 2020

Journal of Family Psychology

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Many children never receive treatment for their mental health symptoms-and those that do often receive it only after years of delay. Given that relationship and parenting conflict is an identified mechanism of child mental health symptoms, reducing distress in the parents' romantic relationship may help reduce this unmet need. In the current study, 213 couples with 1 or more children between the ages of 3 and 17 (inclusive) were randomized to receive the web-based OurRelationship program or to a 2-month waitlist condition. Intervention couples were also assessed in the year following the program. Couples in the OurRelationship program experienced a significant decrease in coparenting conflict during the intervention (Cohen's d ϭ Ϫ0.27) but also a significant increase in coparenting conflict in the following year, reducing the long-term effects of the intervention (within-group d ϭ Ϫ0.20 at 1-year follow-up compared with baseline). Additionally, parent-reported children's externalizing (within-group d ϭ Ϫ0.40) and internalizing (within-group d ϭ Ϫ0.27) symptoms significantly decreased from baseline to the 1-year follow-up. As hypothesized, improvement in relationship satisfaction during the program was significantly associated with a decrease in coparenting conflict which, in turn, was associated with reduction in both externalizing and internalizing symptoms in the children. These results indicate that online relationship-focused interventions offer an important, adjunctive approach to meet society's need for reducing children's mental health symptoms. Furthermore, the improvements in child functioning strengthen the evidence suggesting the cost-effectiveness of these relationship-focused interventions.

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Section: Relationship Interventions Improve the Coparenting Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvements in coparenting conflict and child adjustment following an online program for relationship distress.

Doss¹,

Roddy²,

Llabre³

et al. 2020

Journal of Family Psychology

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“…Understanding the individual and relational benefits when one member of a couple attends without his or her partner may be necessary to sustain RE programming for low-income populations over time. A handful of studies examined relational outcomes when only one member of a couple attended RE (Antle et al, 2013;Carlson, Barden, et al, 2014;Visvanathan, Richmond, Winder, & Koenck, 2015;Wadsworth et al, 2011). Results indicated some benefits when one member of a couple attended (Wadsworth et al, 2011).…”

Section: Attending Re Individuallymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The benefits of RE for couples and individuals who participate with elevated levels of relational and/or individual distress have not been clearly established (Markman & Rhoades, 2012). Additionally, early RE research focused on couples who attended together, whereas recent studies have examined the benefits for participants who attended RE without their partner (Antle, Karam, Christensen, Barbee, & Bibhuti, 2011;Carlson, Barden, Daire, & Swartz, 2014). The study presented here is in response to the call for more research examining baseline participant distress as a moderating factor of RE outcomes (Fawcett, Hawkins, Blanchard, & Carroll, 2010;Markman & Rhoades, 2012), for participants attending as a couple or individually.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of Couple and Individual Relationship Education: Distress as a Moderator

et al. 2015

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Current literature yields mixed results about the effectiveness of relationship education (RE) with low-income participants and those who experience a high level of individual or relational distress. Scholars have called for research that examines whether initial levels of distress act as a moderator of RE outcomes. To test whether initial levels of relationship and/or individual distress moderate the effectiveness of RE, this study used two samples, one of couples who received couple-oriented relationship education with their partner (n = 192 couples) and one of individuals in a relationship who received individual-oriented RE by themselves (n = 60 individuals). We delivered RE in a community-based setting serving primarily low-income participants. For those attending with a partner, there was a significant interaction between gender, initial distress, and time. Findings indicate that women who were relationally distressed before RE reported the largest pre-postgains. Those who attended an individual-oriented RE program reported significant decreases in individual distress from pre to post, but no significant relationship gains. Findings also suggest that initial levels of distress did not moderate the effectiveness of individual-oriented RE.

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“…The CRE field has a modest record of examining pedagogical and programmatic processes that facilitate positive change in outcomes (Allgood & Higginbotham, ; Bradford, Adler‐Baeder, Ketring, & Smith, ; Carlson, Barden, Daire, & Swartz, ; Higginbotham & Myler, ; Owen, Antle, & Barbee, ; Owen, Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, ; Quirk, Owen, Inch, France, & Bergen, ). Also, several studies have found that program effects are moderated by baseline levels of individual and dyadic risk and distress, with greater risk and distress generally predicting greater improvement in intervention outcomes (Allen, Rhoades, Stanley, Loew, & Markman, ; Amato, ; Barton, Futris, & Bradley, ; Bodenmann, Hilpert, Nussbeck, & Bradbury, ; Carlson, Rappleyea, Daire, Harris, & Liu, ; DuPree, Whiting, & Harris, ; Epstein et al, ; Halford et al, ; Halford, Sanders, & Behrens, ; Hawkins & Erickson, ; McGill et al, ; Quirk, Strokoff, Owen, France, & Bergen, ; Schilling, Baucom, Burnett, Allen, & Ragland, ; Williamson et al, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Does Couple and Relationship Education Affect Relationship Hope? An Intervention‐Process Study with Lower Income Couples

2017

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Objective To explore whether changes in positive interaction skills as a result of participation in couple and relationship education (CRE) are associated with changes in relationship hope. Background Recent CRE work has focused more on its effectiveness for disadvantaged couples, with the early evidence mixed. Increasing the effectiveness of CRE for disadvantaged couples will require more evidence of how it works, not just whether it works. Method In this study, 182 lower income couples participated in a 30‐hour psychoeducational intervention, Family Expectations (FE), in Oklahoma City. Participants completed measures of positive interaction skills and relationship hope, a seldom‐studied construct in CRE research, before and shortly after the program. Results At pretest, there was significant variation in relationship hope among FE participants. Latent growth curve models revealed changes in positive interaction skills were associated with higher levels of partners' relationship hope at the end of the program, although the effect of men's skills changes on their partners' hope was 3 to 4 times stronger than for women's skills changes on their partners' hope. Additional latent growth curve models found that nearly 70% of participants reported positive changes in skills and that participants entering the program with the lowest levels of hope experienced the greatest changes in positive interaction skills. Conclusion We conclude that relationship hope is a legitimate target outcome in CRE and is influenced by improvement in positive interaction skills, consistent with social learning theory. Also, those entering CRE with low levels of hope improve interaction skills most, and men's growth produces larger gains for the couple relationship than women's growth. Implications Distressed individuals and couples should be particularly encouraged to attend CRE programs, and program developers should make sure that their curricula and pedagogic processes are well aligned with men's interests and learning styles.

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Examining Parental Alliance for Low-Income Participants Who Attended Relationship Education With or Without a Partner

Cited by 12 publications

References 37 publications

Improvements in coparenting conflict and child adjustment following an online program for relationship distress.

Improvements in coparenting conflict and child adjustment following an online program for relationship distress.

The Effectiveness of Couple and Individual Relationship Education: Distress as a Moderator

How Does Couple and Relationship Education Affect Relationship Hope? An Intervention‐Process Study with Lower Income Couples

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