Factors Associated with Romantic Relationship Self‐Efficacy Following Youth‐Focused Relationship Education

• Author: Tara E. Sutton,Ted G. Futris,Jeneé C. Duncan
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12288
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• Date: 01 December 2017

T G. F, T E. S,  J C. D University of Georgia

Factors Associated with Romantic Relationship

Self-Efcacy Following Youth-Focused Relationship

Education

Objective: To explore how youths’ perceived

relationship self-efcacy following relationship

education may vary on the basis of program and

youth characteristics.

Background: Youth-focused relationship edu-

cation has been shown to promote attitudes and

behaviors that foster healthy romantic relation-

ships. Yetlittle is known about the factors associ-

ated with variations in these program outcomes.

Method: Using data collected from a conve-

nience sample of 1,076 youth who participated

in the Love U2: Relationship Smarts Plus pro-

gram, structural equation models and multiple

group analysis using chi-square difference tests

were examined to assess whether and how vari-

ous program and youth characteristicsare asso-

ciated with relationship self-efcacy.

Results: Youths’ romantic relationship self-

efcacy was greater when programming was

offered within a week or weekly versus monthly,

after school rather than in-school, and whether

participants were female and had previous

dating experiences. Several demographic fac-

tors (e.g., race, sex) moderated the inuence of

programmatic and individual characteristics on

self-efcacy.

Human Development and Family Science, University of

Georgia,225 Hoke Smith Annex, 300 Carlton Street, Athens,

GA 30602 (tfutris@uga.edu).

KeyWords: Adolescent romantic relations,family life educa-

tion, marriage enrichment, program development and eval-

uation.

Conclusion: Variability exists in how rela-

tionship and marriage education programs

are implemented in uncontrolled real-world

settings. Our ndings suggest that program

outcomes may also vary on the basis of certain

youth and program characteristics.

Implications: Practitioners should carefully

consider how the tailoring of program con-

tent and delivery to meet the needs of diverse

audiences maintains program delity and can

potentially inuence program outcomes.

Romantic relationships are salient to youths’

concurrent well-being as well as later life

functioning (Collins, 2003). For instance, high

school youth with less romantic attachment

avoidance (e.g., comfort trusting a relationship

partner) are more likely to exhibit interpersonal

competence (Paulk, Pittman, Kerpelman, &

Adler-Beader, 2011). Those who experience

healthy romantic relationships in adolescence

are also more likely to report better quality rela-

tionships as young adults (Madsen & Collins,

2011). However, dating relationships present

some notable risks, including dating violence

(Maas, Fleming, Herrenkohl, & Catalano, 2010)

and risky sexual behaviors (Manlove, Ryan, &

Franzetta, 2004). These risky behaviors have

been linked to poor models of healthy relation-

ships (Sutton, Simons, Wickrama, & Futris,

2014), faulty beliefs about relationships (Cui,

Fincham, & Durtschi, 2011), and a lack of skills

Family Relations 66 (December 2017): 777–793 777

DOI:10.1111/fare.12288

778 Family Relations

to develop and maintain healthy relationships

(Foshee et al., 2008).

Youth-focused relationship and marriage

education (RME) promotes the development

of healthy attitudes and knowledge about rela-

tionships and romantic partners (Adler-Baeder,

Kerpelman, Schramm, Higginbotham, & Paulk,

2007; Futris, Sutton, & Richardson, 2013),

reduces at-risk behaviors (Gardner & Boellaard,

2007), and leads to an increased ability to resist

sexual pressure (Schramm & Gomez-Scott,

2012). However, there is limited research on

how both program and youth characteristics

are associated with variations in program out-

comes among individual youth. Identifying such

moderators would provide RME practitioners

with guidance in program design and imple-

mentation (Hawkins, Stanley, Blanchard, &

Albright, 2012). This is consistent with Type

II translational research aimed at advancing

programs that have demonstrated efcacy when

implemented with scientic rigor (e.g., high

delity, controlled setting) when adopted in

real-world settings (Rohrbach, Grana, Suss-

man, & Valente, 2006). The goal of Type II

translational research is to better understand

the processes and mechanisms that inuence

this adoption across various populations and

settings while demonstrating similar impact

(Spoth et al., 2013). Similarly, there is a grow-

ing desire among scholars and practitioners

to better understand factors associated with

program outcomes when evidence-based pro-

grams are adapted to t a particular context or

audience need (Olsen, Welsh, & Perkins, 2015).

To inform future translational research on RME,

the present study was designed to explore how

youths’ perceived behavioral control and inten-

tions following RME may vary on the basis of

program and youth characteristics.

Y-F RME

RME for youth is intended to increase knowl-

edge and self-efcacy related to (a) identifying

healthy versus unhealthy relationship patterns

and practices, (b) using positive communication

and conict management skills, and (c) avoiding

risky dating and sexual behaviors (Kerpelman,

2007). This is partly accomplished by provid-

ing youth opportunities to explore different

roles and identities related to relationships and

sexuality. Further, these programs generally

include lessons about the components of a

loving relationship, the intersection between

identity and romantic relationships, recognizing

and responding to dating violence, handling

conict, and communicating effectively.

According to the theory of planned behav-

ior (Ajzen, 1991; Ajzen, Brown, & Carvajal,

2004), youths’ perceived ability and intentions

to engage in particular behaviors will lead

to actual behavioral outcomes. Specically,

youths’ development of healthy relationships is

inuenced by their condence (or self-efcacy)

to have healthy relationships and engage in

behaviors that promote healthy relationships

(i.e., perceived behavioral control; Ajzen, 1991).

Consistent with self-efcacy theory (Bandura,

1977), it is expected that youth who report a

high level of perceived self-efcacy (e.g., com-

petence and condence in practicing learned

skills) following their participation in a program

are, in turn, more likely to adopt and engage

in the behaviors they learned. Importantly, it is

only when perceived self-efcacy is combined

with intentions to use the skills learned that the

desired behavioral outcomes can be achieved.

A growing body of research shows posi-

tive inuences of RME programs specically

designed for youth on attitudes and beliefs

about relationships, marriage, and interpersonal

skills (Adler-Baeder et al., 2007; Kerpelman

et al. 2010). Participants in youth-focused RME

programs tend to report a better understand-

ing of healthy versus unhealthy relationship

patterns, effective communication and conict

resolution skills, and smart dating strategies

(Antle, Sullivan, Dryden, Karam, & Barbee,

2011), and they report fewer faulty relationship

beliefs (Kerpelman, Pittman, Adler-Baeder,

Eryigit, & Paulk, 2009; Kerpelman et al., 2010).

Moreover, youth who report more positive

attitudes and greater awareness of skills to

develop healthy relationships after participating

in RME are more likely to engage in healthy

practices such as managing conict appropri-

ately, avoiding abusive behaviors, and using

effective communication skills (e.g., listener-

responsiveness; Adler-Baeder, et al., 2007; Gar-

dner & Boellaard, 2007; Gardner, Giese, &

Parrott, 2004; Kerpelman, 2007). On the basis

of theoretical and empirical support linking

immediate outcomes of RME (e.g., knowledge,

beliefs, self-efcacy) to subsequent behaviors,

the present study moves this body of research

forward by examining differences in perceived

relationship condence and intentions to use the