Site Areas
Wedding Centre
Health Club
Marriage Clinic
Chapel
University
Citizen's Centre
Coffee Shop
Admin Centre

Contents
Articles
Books
CDs / Videos
Tips
Services

Resources
Forums
Membership
Contact Us
Site map
Link to Us

Search

Free Tell A Friend from Bravenet


In association with:

Marriage books and much more from Amazon.co.uk

Celebrate your marriage with flowers!

Set up your Wedding Registry!

Marriage and divorce advice from justask.org.uk

Take our Demographic survey

Family Friendly Site

   Home  > Articles

Predicting Divorce

By Dr Scott M Stanley & Dr Howard J Markman

Research Studies

The following information is taken from: Stanley (in press)

A number of studies specifically on PREP® and it's variations have shown very encouraging results. Behrens and Halford (1994) found that the communication skills of those coming from divorced homes could be brought up to the level of those not having this risk factor (parental divorce). Blumberg (1991) compared PREP with Engaged Encounter, finding at post assessment that PREP couples communicated more positively and less negatively as judged by trained coders.

In the United States, the longest term evaluation of the skills-based, premarital training ever conducted has been a study comparing PREP to matched control couples (Markman, Floyd, Stanley, & Storaasli, 1988; Markman et al., 1993; Stanley et al., 1995). PREP couples have been shown to have about half the likelihood of breaking up or divorcing, have demonstrated greater relationship satisfaction, and have shown lower problem intensity than the control couples, up to five years following training.

For years following training, PREP couples have shown better communication than controls, as assessed on such dimensions as communication skills usage, positive affect, problem-solving skill, and support/validation. PREP couples have also shown less withdrawal, less denial, less dominance, less negative affect, and less overall negative communication than controls. Lastly, PREP couples reported significantly fewer instances of physical violence.

In Germany, a version of PREP® has been in use by the Catholic Church, where PREP couples (compared to a mixed control group, with about half of the couples choosing other premarital programs offered by the Church and about half receiving no premarital program) have shown significant gains in communication and conflict management skills from pre to post-test, and have maintained these gains at the 1 and 3-year follow-ups compared to their pre-test scores and to controls. Moreover, PREP couples were significantly more satisfied at the 3 year follow-up and more stable as compared to controls (Thurmaier et al.. 1993). Perhaps most importantly, the latest data show that the PREP couples have a lower divorce rate (1.6% vs. 12.5%) than the control couples (Hahlweg et al., 1996).

A recent study on another variation of PREP in the Netherlands did not show the same kinds of promising results as other PREP studies have (Van Widenfelt, Hosman, Schaap, & van der Staak, 1996). However, interpretation of results from this study is problematic for various reasons. First, PREP couples had been together an average of three years longer than controls at the beginning of the study, making group comparisons difficult. Second, since the PREP couples averaged nine years together prior to intervention, inferences to premarital "prevention" seem limited. Third, control couples were significantly more likely to drop out of this longitudinal study, which can produce a control group that is increasingly select (biased) for couples doing relatively well (Van Widenfelt et al., 1996) at 5 year follow-up.

Such methodological problems are very difficult to overcome in longitudinal, intervention outcome research, and studies on PREP® are affected by such complicated methodological concerns in varying degrees. At the University of Denver we are currently beginning a large scale outcome study of premarital training with the support of the National Institute of Mental Health. This new study will address some of the design concerns raised by other outcome studies on premarital training.

Methodological problems in long term studies make it increasingly difficult to detect differences between groups many years later. It is important to note that the beneficial effects of a program like PREP appear to be clear as long as 4 or 5 years after the training. Beyond that, the effects probably weaken over time, and therefore it is important for couples who benefit from such material to periodically review it. Taken as a whole, we are quite encouraged by the data from a variety of studies suggesting that couples can learn skills, attitudes, and strategies that can make a real difference.

The Foci of PREP

Brief Publication List


In this article
- Introduction
- Invalidation and Prediction
- The Foci of PREP
- Research Studies
- Brief Publication List

Bookmark and Share
Printer Friendly
More From this author

More Articles
- Can Government Rescue Marriages?
- Younger Wonders
- Facts About Marital Distress and Divorce
- Marriage Means

Hot Picks
- 6th National Relationship Education Conference
-
- Take the Couple Check-up!
- Marriage first aid
-
- Marriage help for friends
- Deepen your love & marriage

Discuss
- Marriage news from around the world
- Coffee Shop Chat - have some fun!!
- Marriage Problems - ask for help!
- Visit the Index

Copyright, PREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.


 2-in-2-1 Today
Take our Couple Checkup - put your relationship on strong foundations by checking out the strengths and growth areas!
Difficulties communicating? - 55 cards to improve your couple communication
What people say about 2-in-2-1 - we thrive on your feedback!
Couples Wanted!! - for TV and press enquiries - tell your story!
Cyber sex and Internet addiction - is the internet threatening your marriage??

Top

Copyright ©1999-2024 2-in-2-1 Limited. All rights reserved. Disclaimer Privacy Statement