The Effectiveness of Couple and Individual Relationship Education: Distress as a Moderator

• Author: Damon L. Rappleyea,Xiaofeng Liu,Steven M. Harris,Ryan G. Carlson,Andrew P. Daire
• Date: 01 March 2017
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12172

The Effectiveness of Couple and Individual

Relationship Education: Distress as a Moderator

RYAN G. CARLSON*

DAMON L. RAPPLEYEA

†

ANDREW P. DAIRE

‡

STEVEN M. HARRIS

§

XIAOFENG LIU*

Current literature yields mixed results about the effectiveness of relationship education

(RE) with low-income participants and those who experience a high level of individual or

relational distress. Scholars have called for research that examines whether initial levels

of distress act as a moderator of RE outcomes. To test whether initial levels of relationship

and/or individual distress moderate the effectiveness of RE, this study used two samples,

one of couples who received couple-oriented relationship education with their partner

(n=192 couples) and one of individuals in a relationship who received individual-ori-

ented RE by themselves (n=60 individuals). We delivered RE in a community-based

setting serving primarily low-income participants. For those attending with a partner,

there was a significant interaction between gender, initial distress, and time. Findings

indicate that women who were relationally distressed before RE reported the largest

pre-postgains. Those who attended an individual-oriented RE program reported signifi-

cant decreases in individual distress from pre to post, but no signif icant relationship gains.

Findings also suggest that initial levels of distress did not moderate the effectiveness of

individual-oriented RE.

Keywords: Relationship education; Distress; Low income

Fam Proc 56:91–104, 2017

INTRODUCTION

Research supports relationship education (RE) as an effective approach to improving

relationship satisfaction (Carroll & Doherty, 2003; Hawkins, Blanchard, Baldwin, &

Fawcett, 2008). Historically, RE studies included nondistressed, middle-income couples

and individuals. More recent studies evaluated the benefits of RE with distressed couples

(Amato, 2014; Bradford et al., 2014; Lundquist et al., 2014; Petch, Halford, Creedy, &

Gamble, 2012; Quirk, Strokoff, Owen, France, & Bergen, 2014) and fragile families (Wilde

& Doherty, 2013). Bradford, Hawkins, and Acker (2015) noted the relatively high number

*Department of Educational Studies, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.

†

Department of Human Development and Family Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.

‡

Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX.

§

Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ryan G. Carlson, Department of Educa-

tional Studies, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. E-mail: rcarlson@sc.edu.

The data collected for this manuscript were supported by the Department of Health and Human Ser-

vices, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, grant: 90FM0039-01-00. Any

opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect

the views of US DHHS, Office of Family Assistance.

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Family Process, Vol. 56, No. 1, 2017 ©2015 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12172