Impact evaluation of the family expectations program and moderation by sociodemographic disadvantage.

The federal government, through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), has funded community-based relationship education programs for couples, individuals, and families, with a strong focus on serving economically disadvantaged and racially diverse families. This study evaluated the impact of a 36-hour, workshop-based couple relationship education program that was funded by ACF using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design and intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses. Participants were 1320 couples who were either expecting a baby or had a baby within the past 3 months, at the time of enrollment. Follow-up surveys were administered 12 months later. Analyses evaluated program impacts on relationship stability, constructive communication, and destructive conflict compared to a no-treatment control group. Analyses showed a statistically significant impact of the program on destructive conflict (d = 0.10) but not on constructive communication (d = 0.06) or stability (dCox  = 0.10). Based on findings from previous evaluations, we also examined whether participants' levels of sociodemographic disadvantage moderated these effects. There was significant moderation by sociodemographic disadvantage on constructive communication and destructive conflict, but not on stability. Effects were observed for those at higher levels of sociodemographic disadvantage.

Sexuality Within Female Same-Gender Couples: Definitions of Sex, Sexual Frequency Norms, and Factors Associated with Sexual Satisfaction.

Despite a growing number of female same-gender (FSG) relationships, couples-based research and interventions have focused primarily on mixed-gender couples. Consequently, research has applied a heteronormative lens to understanding some relationship factors, including sexuality. The current study sought to provide descriptive data regarding frequency and conceptualizations of sex across partners in FSG relationships, as well as to analyze how relationship factors are associated with sexual satisfaction in this population. Participants (N = 206) were 103 adult FSG couples who had been together for at least 2 months. Individuals provided self-report data on how they conceptualized sex, and actor-partner models were utilized to assess relationship factors associated with sexual satisfaction. Findings indicated that women in FSG relationships hold broad definitions of sex, with the majority of behaviors conceptualized as sex, including acts that involved partnered genital touching. In dyadic actor-partner models, sexual satisfaction was predicted by several factors including sexual frequency, emotional intimacy, and sexual intimacy. Unexpectedly, higher desired sexual frequency was associated with lower sexual satisfaction; however, this finding only emerged after controlling for actual sexual frequency, suggesting that discrepancies between desired and actual sex frequency may be important for FSG couples. Implications for clinical practice with FSG couples are explored, including a strength-based focus on broad conceptualizations of sex within this population and targeting relationship factors associated with sexual satisfaction.

Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater? Serial Infidelity Across Subsequent Relationships.

Although there is a large body of research addressing predictors of relationship infidelity, no study to our knowledge has specifically addressed infidelity in a previous relationship as a risk factor for infidelity in a subsequent relationship. The current study addressed risk for serial infidelity by following adult participants (N = 484) longitudinally through two mixed-gender romantic relationships. Participants reported their own extra-dyadic sexual involvement (ESI) (i.e., having sexual relations with someone other than their partner) as well as both known and suspected ESI on the part of their partners in each romantic relationship. Findings from logistic regressions showed that those who reported engaging in ESI in the first relationship were three times more likely to report engaging in ESI in their next relationship compared to those who did not report engaging in ESI in the first relationship. Similarly, compared to those who reported that their first-relationship partners did not engage in ESI, those who knew that their partners in the first relationships had engaged in ESI were twice as likely to report the same behavior from their next relationship partners. Those who suspected their first-relationship partners of ESI were four times more likely to report suspicion of partner ESI again in their next relationships. These findings controlled for demographic risk factors for infidelity and held regardless of respondent gender or marital status. Thus, prior infidelity emerged as an important risk factor for infidelity in next relationships. Implications for novel intervention targets for prevention of serial relationship infidelity are discussed.

Within- and Between-Family Associations of Marital Functioning and Child Well-being.

This study clarifies within-family and between-family links between marital functioning and child wellbeing. Expanding on existing prospective research, this study tests whether changes in parents' marital functioning are associated with corresponding changes in their children's wellbeing, independent from associations that exist when comparing different families. Participants (N = 1033) were members of married, opposite-sex couples with children who participated in five waves of a larger study of marriage in the U.S. Army. Spouses' constructive communication, verbal conflict, and marital satisfaction each showed between-family associations with parent-reported child internalizing and externalizing problems. In contrast, within-family associations were significant only for parents' communication behaviors. That is, parents who reported lower levels of marital satisfaction also reported lower child wellbeing, whereas change in parents' communication was associated with change in child wellbeing over time. Isolating within-family effects is important for understanding marital and child functioning and for identifying potential targets for effective intervention.

Couples Relationship Education and Couples Therapy: Healthy Marriage or Strange Bedfellows?

This paper focuses on issues sparked by the Couples Relationship Education (CRE) field moving toward a more clinical model to meet the needs of an increasing number of distressed couples coming to CRE programs. We review the concerns raised and recommendations made by Bradford, Hawkins, and Acker (2015), most of which push CRE toward a more clinical model. We address these recommendations and make suggestions for best practices that preserve the prevention/education model underlying research-based CRE. The three main issues are couple screening, leader training, and service delivery models. Our suggested best practices include: conducting minimal screening including the assessment of dangerous levels of couple violence, training leaders with key skills to handle issues raised by distressed couples as well as other couples who may place additional burdens on leaders, providing referrals and choices of programs available to participants at intake and throughout the CRE program, and adding (rather than integrating) clinical services to CRE services for couples who desire additional intervention. Finally, throughout the paper, we review other key issues in the CRE field and make recommendations made for future research and practice.