Variations in Coparenting and Parenting Functioning Among At-risk Couples Following Participation in Couples Relationship Education

Couple relationships directly affect parenting practices, which in turn affect outcomes for children. More so, at-risk couples are more prone to exhibit conflictual relationships, elevated parenting stress, and behaviors that increase their children’s vulnerability to negative physical, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Couples relationship education (CRE) programs have been found to positively influence couple functioning, which in turn has been linked to improved parenting behaviors. Supported by a federal grant, Project F.R.E.E.(www.ugaprojectfree.com) provides CRE to at-risk parents engaged in child welfare services in order to improve couple and co-parenting functioning. This presentation will share results from a study examining changes among a sample of married and unmarried couples in self-reports of coparenting quality, parenting stress and parenting behaviors. Variations in change based on parents’ gender, marital status, and developmental timing of program delivery will be explored

Fit 2-B FATHERS: The Effectiveness of Extension Programming with Incarcerated Fathers

Incarceration and recidivism negatively affect offenders, their children, families, and communities. Fit 2-B FATHERS, a social and parenting skills program for males in the corrections system, has been found to improve participants attitudes about themselves, their role as fathers, and their understanding of positive parenting practices. This program can help participants become less of a security risk during the remainder of their sentence and have reduced rates of recidivism following their release. When participants positively engage in the lives of their children, their children may be less likely to engage in at-risk behaviors that could lead to imprisonment

Program Development from Start-to-Finish: A Case Study of the Healthy Relationship and Marriage Education Training Project

What goes into designing and implementing a successful program? How do both research and practice inform program development? In this article, the process through which a federally funded training curriculum was developed and piloted tested is described. Using a logic model framework, important lessons learned are shared in defining the situation, identifying and maximizing inputs, clarifying and tracking outputs, and documenting and reporting outcomes

An Evaluation of the Relationship Smarts Plus Program on Adolescents in Georgia

The present study examines the impact of Relationship Smarts Plus among 1,657 adolescents age 12-18 across 25 Georgia counties. The program, aimed at increasing awareness about healthy versus unhealthy relationships and promoting smart dating strategies and the application of healthy communication and conflict resolution skills, was offered 54 times by 23 different FCS or 4-H agents during a 53-month period. After each lesson, participants completed a 5-item retrospective pre- and post-test assessing changes in awareness and understanding of the concepts and skills learned. Overall, 949 (57%) youth responded to an overall post-evaluation administered at the conclusion of the program series to document confidence levels in having a healthy relationship, likelihood of using the skills learned, perceived helpfulness of the program, and changes in how youth felt about themselves. On average, youth demonstrated significant increases in knowledge for all lessons and reported positive improvements across all post-evaluation indicators following participation in the program. Implications for future youth-focused outreach programming to promote healthy relationships are shared

Preparing Future Child Welfare Professionals to Strengthen Couple Relations

This study evaluates the potential value of integrating a family science-focused course on strengthening couple and coparenting relationships into the training of social work students and future child welfare professionals. The 15-week graduate course offered 30 MSW students an opportunity to learn and practice relationship and marriage education (RME) skills in order to teach relevant concepts to clients and to support future integration of these skills in their careers. Evaluation data showed that students demonstrated improvements in multiple domains of knowledge and self-efficacy and applied the concepts learned with clients within six months of completing the course. Implications for future trainings, research, and the scholarship of teaching and learning are shared

Strengthening Marriages: An Evaluation and Assessment of a Couple\u27s and Marital Enrichment Newsletter

In times of shrinking budgets, are newsletters a wise use of resources? Findings from Ohio State University Extension indicate they are. Results from an evaluation and assessment on the impact of a statewide couples and marital enrichment newsletter reveal that a significant proportion of readers experience positive changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Readers tend to rate the newsletter positively and view it as a helpful resource in their personal relationship. Newsletters like this can serve as a cost-effective way to reach more couples in the community (who may not attend a relationship class) and promote healthy marriages

The Communication Patterns Questionnaire-Short Form: A Review and Assessment

The Communication Patterns Questionnaire-Short Form (CPQ-SF) is an 11-item self-assessment of spouses’ perceptions of marital interactions. A cited reference review of the CPQ-SF literature revealed no formal assessment of its psychometric properties and that researchers are imprecise in their use, reporting, and referencing of the assessment. Toward improving the use of the CPQ-SF in research and practice, the factor structure and psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data collected from a diverse sample of married individuals. Three latent constructs were identified: criticize/defend, discuss/avoid, and positive interaction patterns. Support for the original two-factor structure, demand/withdrawal and positive interaction, was also found. Suggestions for a more precise use of the CPQ-SF in research and practice conclude the paper

Meeting Couple and Coparenting Relationship Needs of Foster Caregivers: Perceptions of Georgia Child Welfare County Directors

Foster caregivers face many unique challenges that may cause strain on their couple/coparenting relationships. Though foster caregivers receive training to help them navigate certain challenges of fostering, there is a lack of resources dedicated to supporting their couple/coparenting relationships. In the study described in this article, we examined the perceptions of Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) county directors regarding potential effects of providing healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) to foster caregivers. Findings suggest that DFCS directors are in favor of providing HMRE to foster parents but that barriers to doing so must be addressed

The Impact of the P.I.C.K. a Partner Relationship Educational Program on Single Army Soldiers

Educating singles on how to develop healthy, romantic relationships can be beneficial to their subsequent dating and marital satisfaction, and for Army soldiers, their satisfaction with military life. A new relationship program, the P.I.C.K. program, was delivered to single Army soldiers, and at the conclusion of the program participants demonstrated an increase in their understanding of the crucial areas to explore and discuss in a premarital relationship, gained a better understanding of how to pace their relationship, and exhibited more realistic attitudes and beliefs about marriage and mate selection

Conceptualizations of Romantic Relationship Commitment Among Low-Income African American Adolescents

Few studies have examined adolescents’ understanding of romantic relationship commitment, particularly among African American youth. Using three waves of semistructured interviews, the present descriptive study addresses this topic by exploring the ways in which 20 African American adolescents (age range 13-19 years) from low-income backgrounds conceptualize and describe commitment in romantic relationships. Qualitative analyses revealed three main themes related to defining commitment, indicating that which commitment provides, and describing the nature of commitment in different relationship contexts. Findings inform psychological research and practice relating to commitment and romantic relationships among African American adolescents