Genetic sensitivity predicts long-term psychological benefits of a relationship education program for married couples.

Objective: Relationship education programs have proven effective in promoting relationship quality and preventing divorce among married couples. However, according to theories of , people differ for genetic reasons in their sensitivity to environmental influences with some more affected by both negative and positive experiences, including psychological interventions.

Method: Here we test in two studies whether the positive effects of the established (PREP) are moderated by two different polygenic scores (PGS) for environmental sensitivity, one based on nine established candidate genes and one based on several thousand variants across the genome, derived from recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) results.

Helping couples achieve relationship success: A decade of progress in couple relationship education research and practice, 2010-2019.

This article systematically reviewed 34 rigorous evaluation studies of couple relationship education (CRE) programs from 2010 to 2019 that met the criteria for Level 1 well-established interventions. Significant advances include reaching more diverse and disadvantaged target populations with positive intervention effects on a wider range of outcomes beyond relationship quality, including physical and mental health, coparenting, and even child well-being, and evidence that high-risk couples often benefit the most. In addition, considerable progress has been made delivering effective online CRE, increasing services to individuals rather than to couples, and giving greater attention to youth and young adults to teach them principles and skills that may help them form healthy relationships.

Supporting Romantic Relationships During COVID-19 Using Virtual Couple Therapy.

The novel coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) has profoundly impacted people's lives, resulting in economic turmoil, death and suffering, and drastic changes to everyday life. The adjustment and strain of such challenges can spill over into couples' relationship processes, including how partners spend time together, talk to one another, and manage conflict. Drawing from our experiences conducting virtual couple therapy (VCT) in a university-based training clinic and community-based clinic, as well as themes from an informal survey of 29 couple therapy clinicians, the current paper discusses the unique challenges that couples face in therapy during COVID-19.

We are not all the same: The importance of perceived difference in racial ideology and Afrocentricity for African American relationships.

A large body of existing research on African American relationships perpetuates a deficit model that assumes Eurocentric norms and emphasizes between-group differences (e.g., cross-racial comparisons with the majority group-European Americans).

Male Service Members' and Civilian Wives' Perceptions of Partner Connection Regarding Deployment and PTSD Symptoms.

In general, a sense of understanding and connection is an important aspect of marital relationships. In the context of military couples in which a service member may have symptoms of PTSD, spouses' understanding of the nature and causes of service member PTSD symptoms may be protective for both partners' marital satisfaction. However, partners may vary in the degree to which they understand and connect around (1) historical experiences of combat and deployment, versus understanding and connecting around (2) any ongoing manifestation of PTSD symptoms post deployment.

Associations Between Service Members' Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Partner Accommodation Over Time.

When service members manifest symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), intimate partners may engage in behaviors to accommodate their partners' experiences (e.g., helping service members avoid situations that could make them uncomfortable, not expressing own thoughts and feelings to minimize PTSD-related conflict), which may inadvertently serve to maintain or increase PTSD symptoms over time.

Having a Baby: Impact on Married and Cohabiting Parents' Relationships.

The current study evaluates the effects of having a baby on relationship quality and stability, contrasting married and unmarried cohabiting parents (N = 179; 38% unmarried cohabiting). Participants provided several waves of data, including time points before, during, and after pregnancy. Results indicated that cohabiting parents broke up at a significantly higher rate after having a baby compared to married parents.

Helping Couples in the Shadow of COVID-19.

The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (coronavirus) and the associated illness, COVID-19, has caused a level of worldwide upheaval unlike any most people now living have seen in their lifetimes. This crisis affects people in their most important, committed, and intimate relationships. Although this crisis has damaged the health and well-being of individuals, crushed economies, and led to an extensive period of uncertainty about the future, there may also be positive outcomes in the motivation people have to protect their relationships.

Everything Here is Fine: Protective Buffering by Military Spouses During a Deployment.

To minimize potential distractions for deployed military service members (SMs), some nondeployed romantic partners have reported engaging in protective buffering, or intentionally withholding information or concerns to protect their deployed partner. This study assessed the associations of protective buffering and psychological distress and marital satisfaction for military couples during and after deployment. Additionally, the study explored whether protective buffering was related to SM reports of being distracted during deployment by family matters.

Protective Buffering by Service Members During Military Deployments: Associations with Psychological Distress and Relationship Functioning.

To shield a romantic partner from potential distress due to stressors occurring during deployment, service members (SMs) may engage in protective buffering, or withholding information or concerns from a romantic partner. This study utilized data from 54 couples collected before, during, and after a military deployment to assess whether SMs engaged in protective buffering while deployed and the possible associations between buffering and psychological, relationship, and contextual factors. Only 2% of SMs indicated never engaging in protective buffering during a deployment.

Treatment-as-Usual for Couples: Trajectories Before and After Beginning Couple Therapy.

Couple therapy has been shown to be a meaningful way to improve couples' relationships. However, less information is known about couples' functioning prior to entering treatment in community settings, as well as how their relationship functioning changes from initiating therapy onward. This study examined 87 couples who began community-based couple therapy during a longitudinal study of couples in the military.

Unequally into "Us": Characteristics of Individuals in Asymmetrically Committed Relationships.

This study examined characteristics of individuals that are associated with being in asymmetrically committed relationships (ACRs), defined as romantic relationships in which there was a substantial difference in the commitment levels of the partners. These ACRs were studied in a national sample of unmarried, opposite-sex romantic relationships (N = 315 couples). Perceiving oneself as having more potential alternative partners was associated with increased odds of being the less committed partner in an ACR compared to not being in an ACR, as was being more attachment avoidant, having more prior relationship partners, and having a history of extradyadic sex during the present relationship.

Associations of Army Fathers' PTSD Symptoms and Child Functioning: Within- and Between-Family Effects.

This study examined the within-family and between-family associations between fathers' military-related PTSD symptoms and parent ratings of children's behavioral and emotional problems. The sample included married couples (N = 419) with children composed of a civilian wife and an active-duty husband serving in the U.S.

Between- and within-subject associations of PTSD symptom clusters and marital functioning in military couples.

Using data from 570 male service members and their wives, the current study investigated over-time associations between male service members' self-report of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and marital functioning (marital satisfaction, positive bonding, conflict behavior) as perceived by both spouses. Analyses spanned 5 time points over a 2-year period and fully disentangled between- and within-subject effects. Higher levels of all four PTSD symptom clusters (numbing, hyperarousal, effortful avoidance, and reexperiencing) showed significant between-subject associations with lower levels of marital satisfaction and positive bonding, and higher levels of conflict for both men and women, whereas there were markedly fewer significant within-subject associations.

Something to talk about: Topics of conversation between romantic partners during military deployments.

Long-distance communication has been frequently identified as essential to military couples trying to maintain their relationship during a deployment. Little quantitative research, however, has assessed the types of topics discussed during such communication and how those topics relate to overall relationship satisfaction. The current study draws on a sample of 56 Army couples who provided data through online surveys while the service member was actively deployed.

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.

Associations Between Participant Ratings of PREP for Strong Bonds and Marital Outcomes 1 Year Postintervention.

After completing a relationship education program, collecting participant evaluations of the program is common practice. These are generally used as an index of "consumer satisfaction" with the program, with implications for feasibility and quality. Rarely have these ratings been used as predictors of changes in marital quality, although such feedback may be the only data providers collect or have immediate access to when considering the success of their efforts.

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.

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 ( = 1033) were members of married, opposite-sex couples with children who participated in five waves of a larger study of marriage in the U.

Changes in the Sexual Relationship and Relationship Adjustment Precede Extradyadic Sexual Involvement.

Extradyadic sexual involvement (ESI) is associated with negative consequences for individuals and threatens couple stability. Research on ESI in unmarried samples has been marked by methodological limitations, such as examining only mean levels of sexual satisfaction or frequency to predict later ESI as opposed to changes in various aspects of the sexual relationship over time. The current study compared linear trajectories of four aspects of the sexual relationship-sexual satisfaction, frequency of sex, comfort communicating about sex, and sexual closeness-between individuals in opposite-sex, unmarried relationships who subsequently engaged in ESI (ESI group; n = 183) compared to individuals who did not engage in ESI (non-ESI group; n = 603).

Relationship Education for Military Couples: Recommendations for Best Practice.

Military couples have a number of distinctive strengths and challenges that are likely to influence their relationship adjustment. Military couples' strengths include stable employment, financial security, and subsidized health and counseling services. At the same time, military couples often experience long periods of separation and associated difficulties with emotional disconnect, trauma symptoms, and reintegrating the family.

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.

PREP for Strong Bonds: A review of outcomes from a randomized clinical trial.

To help address the relationship needs of service members, there have been a number of programs offered within active duty and veteran contexts. One program, offered within the Strong Bonds portfolio delivered by Army Chaplains, is PREP for Strong Bonds (PREP = the Prevention and Relationship Education Program). PREP has a number of empirically based and tested variants.

Can marriage education mitigate the risks associated with premarital cohabitation?

This study tested whether relationship education (i.e., the Prevention and Relationship Education Program; PREP) can mitigate the risk of having cohabited before making a mutual commitment to marry (i.