Exploring the Influence of Smartphone Technology within the Context of Marriage: An Intervention Study

Abstract The introduction of smartphones and their use into the everyday lives of a significantly large population has changed the way people communicate and interact. The purpose of this study is to examine any possible negative or positive effects smart phone use may have on partner satisfaction and couple-communication within a married/partnered couple. Participants were divided into a control group and an experimental group. The constructs of communication and relationship satisfaction were measured through a repeated-measures design. The Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS) was used to measure relational satisfaction, and the Primary Communication Inventory was used to measure partner communication. Both surveys were administered at the beginning and end of a 2-week intervention period. Couples in the experimental group turned off their smartphones for 2 hours each day. Five constructs were analyzed: the total score of the PCI and the RDAS, and the RDAS’s 3 internal constructs of cohesion, satisfaction, and consensus. Five mixed-design ANOVAs were run comparing the 2 groups and measuring any change in the 5 domains. All 5 ANOVAs showed no significant change between the 2 groups after the 2-week intervention. Pearson’s correlations suggested that some factors may be related to relationship satisfaction growth, including number of years married/partnered, partner phone communication frequency, and partner perception of partner’s smartphone use

Spiritual Formation Training in the George Fox University Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

Spiritual formation training in the George Fox University Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology is described. An evangelical Quaker institution, the ethos of George Fox University is intended to foster experiential spiritual development and reflective self-awareness. In a 2008 curriculum revision the faculty attempted to strengthen the experiential dimensions of spiritual formation training even at the risk of reducing training in more academic dimensions of theology and integration. A 2013 program evaluation solicited student and alumni perspectives on the effectiveness of the spiritual formation training they received. Results of the program evaluation suggest areas for future development