Premarital Education and Training Sequence (PETS): A 3‐year Follow‐up of an Experimental Study

Abstract

The authors present a brief review and critique of the empirical status surveyed over 50 published programs, only 13 studies met these of premarital counseling programs in the United States and discuss the two criteria. Two separate aspects of each program were anadevelopment of the Premarital Education and Training Sequence (PETS), lyzed: (a) appropriateness of program contents and (b) adequacy which was designed to correct many of the inadequacies found in most of research methods and designs. contemporary programs. They then present a 3-year experimental study undertaken to investigate the long-term effects of the PETS program.APPROPRIATENESS OF PROGRAM CONTENTS Self-report and behavioral measures of dyadic interaction were used to Bagarozzi and Rauen (1981) expressed the belief that intervenevaluate the program. Significant differences between the experimental tion should be guided by sound theoretical reasoning and that and control groups were found at posttesting for the Irrational Beliefs intervention into interpersonal systems should be guided by a Test (Jones, 1968) and Commitment (Murstein & McDonald, 1977). coherent theory of interpersonal process and relationship de-These differences, however, were not maintained at 3-year follow-up velopment. Such a theory would describe the normal course of evaluations. Significant interactive effects were found for one subscale relationship development and optimal interpersonal functioning of SIDCARB (Bagarozzi, 1983b), a self-report instrument used to eval-as well as explain the etiology of deviant interpersonal processes uate spouses' perceptions of barriers to separation and divorce. and the development of aberrant interaction patterns. Because

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Premarital Prevention Programs: A Meta‐Analytic Review of Outcome Research

“…Of the 13 experimental studies, 10 used a combination of observational coding and self‐report measures to assess participants' communication patterns and problem‐solving styles (e.g., Bagarozzi, Bagarozzi, Anderson, & Pollane, 1984; Markman et al, 1993), whereas 3 studies (D'Augelli et al, 1974; Parish, 1992; Schlein, 1971) only utilized self‐report measures. Of those utilizing behavioral coding systems, 7 (e.g., Halford et al, 2001; Pretorius et al, 1992) used a standardized observational procedure that was developed specifically for measuring dyadic interactional processes.…”

“…Baggarozzi and colleagues (1984) conducted a 3‐year follow‐up of an experimental study undertaken to investigate the long‐term effectiveness of the Premarital Education and Training Sequence (PETS) program. Self‐report and behavioral measures were used to evaluate the program at posttest but only self‐report measures were used at follow‐up.…”

“…Seven of the 13 experimental studies reviewed reported sufficient data to be included in the meta‐analyses (i.e., Bagarozzi et al, 1984; Hahlweg et al, 1998; Halford et al, 2001; Markman et al, 1993; Parish, 1992; Pretorius et al, 1992; Ridley et al, 1981). The 7 studies yielded 237 effect‐size or outcome measures.…”

“You're my one and only”: Premarital counseling for unrealistic beliefs about mate selection

“…If individuals have unrealistic beliefs or expectations about mate selection, they are more likely to experience indecision, frustration, and disappointment in the mate selection process (Bagarozzi & Rauen, 1981;Bagarozzi et al, 1984). Although unrealistic beliefs have been shown to harm married couples' chances for developing marital satisfaction (Epstein & Eidelson, 1981), their identification and role in disrupting premarital relationships is yet unknown (Epstein et al, 1988).…”

Management of Premarital Education to Build Readiness to Marry Youth in the Community Education Perspective

“…Greater than the previous year. Divorce occurs a lot in young couples with less than 10 years of marriage [4]. Various factors are the cause of divorce, but usually because of early marriage.…”