Impacts of healthy marriage and relationship education with integrated economic stability services

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study evaluated the effectiveness of Empowering Families, a healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) program for low‐income couples with children supplemented with intensive employment and financial education services.BackgroundPrevious research found that programs offering both HMRE and economic stability services improved couples' relationship quality but not their economic outcomes. Those programs did not fully integrate economic stability and relationship education content, and take‐up rates for employment services were low.MethodEight hundred seventy‐nine eligible couples were randomly assigned to either (a) a program group that was offered Empowering Families or (b) a control group that was not offering this program. Key outcomes were measured 1 year after study enrollment through surveys of both members of the couple.ResultsEmpowering Families improved all examined aspects of couples' relationship quality (the effect size of impacts ranges from 0.20 to 0.30); it did not affect relationship status. Empowering Families did not improve employment outcomes, but it did reduce economic hardship (the effect size of the impact is −0.13).ConclusionEmpowering Families achieved its central goal of strengthening couples' relationship quality. The fact that Empowering Families reduced economic hardship points to the potential value of offering financial literacy services in conjunction with relationship education.ImplicationsHMRE programs that offer intensive and integrated economic stability content can improve the outcomes of low‐income couples with children.

Dimensions of father development and parenting: A person-centered approach of men attending a responsible fatherhood program.

“…For example, since 2006, the U.S. government has spent over $725 million dollars in support of responsible fatherhood (RF) programs, the goal of which has been to promote paternal involvement and coparental relationship of at-risk and nonresidential fathers, in particular (Holmes et al, 2020). Other efforts have included Healthy Marriage Initiative designed to encourage and strengthen families (Moore et al, 2023; Wood et al, 2014). The end goal of these programs is to encourage the development of healthy relationship skills and increase positive paternal participation in the child’s life.…”