A randomized trial of relationship education using Within Our Reach for economically vulnerable couples.

Couples relationship education is grounded in teaching couples' skills and strategies to form and sustain healthy relationships. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the impact of a relationship education intervention on emotion regulation, individual distress, dyadic coping, and relationship adjustment utilizing a randomized control trial for economically vulnerable couples. The analysis sample included 1418 couples (2836 individuals) who were randomly assigned to receive the 12-h Within Our Reach curriculum immediately, or to a wait-list control group. We estimated multilevel growth curve models over time among outcomes between treatment and wait-list control conditions. Treatment group couples demonstrated statistically significant improvements over the 6-month study period on emotional regulation and dyadic coping when compared to their wait-list group counterparts. Although models showed improvements in individual distress and relationship adjustments, these improvements did not amount to statistically significant group differences. Implications and limitations are also noted.

Examining quality time as a mediator of dyadic change in a randomized controlled trial of relationship education for low-income couples.

Research identifying specific mechanisms of positive change for couples participating in relationship education is scant. Recent studies have identified the potential of communication skills as a likely mechanism, yet more information is needed about the contribution of process factors. Thus, we examined the influence that quality time spent together had on positive post-intervention outcomes based on couples' reports of dyadic coping and dyadic adjustment for 1,367 low-income couples randomly assigned to receive relationship education. Results indicated that treatment couples reported significant gains in quality time spent together, and that those gains fully mediated positive changes in dyadic coping and adjustment. Additionally, actor and partner effects existed such that men's and women's reports of improved quality time influenced their own and their partners dyadic coping and dyadic adjustment. We discuss study implications for practice and future research.