This study evaluated the efficacy of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) adapted for Danish couples expecting their first child. Couples were recruited consecutively through a public maternity ward (N = 290). On the basis of due dates, they were allocated to (a) PREP, (b) an information-based control group (INFO), or (c)…

This meta-analysis examines the efficacy of self-directed marriage and relationship education (MRE) programs on relationship quality and communication skills. Programs combining traditional face-to-face learning with self-directed elements are also examined, and traditional programs' effectiveness is included as a comparison point. Sixteen studies…

This longitudinal study investigated the effects of expectations of effort of self and spouse on the marital quality of marital enrichment seminar participants. Self-report measures of marital quality, expectations regarding effort put into implementing what was learned during the seminar, amount of perceived effort, and satisfaction with effort…

Although the barriers to couples' help seeking can be daunting, to date there is only a small body of literature addressing the factors that motivate couples to seek help. This study examined the association between attitudes toward relationship help seeking and relationship help seeking behaviors, as well as the association between marital…

Recent meta-analytic efforts have documented how couple and relationship education (CRE) programs promote healthy relationship and family functioning. The current meta-analysis contributes to this body of literature by examining stepfamily couples, an at-risk, subpopulation of participants, and assessing the effectiveness of CRE programs for…

Families have long been recognized for the contributions they make to their members and to society. Yet families are seldom substantively incorporated into the normal course of policy and program development, implementation, and evaluation. We propose the family impact lens as one way to shift the rhetoric from appreciating families to…

Advances in the field of prevention science have resulted in strategies that target various youth outcomes. In recent years, numerous "best practices" lists have been developed to help professionals identify such strategies. Some scholars have questioned the quality of these lists and cautioned that there are flaws in evaluations of many…

Eighty-seven parents and primary caregivers of children aged 10 years or younger participated in a study examining the effects of the ACT Raising Safe Kids program on children's behavior. It was hypothesized that children of caregivers who complete ACT-RSK would demonstrate reduced behavior problems compared to children of caregivers in a…

Using meta-analysis, we reviewed the effectiveness of resident fathering education programs. Our review identified 16 studies with over 200 reported effect sizes. Results revealed a significant overall effect size of d = 0.26, with specific significant outcomes ranging from d = 0.14 to d = 0.61. Studies with father-only reports produced…

Previous studies (J. S. Carroll & W. J. Doherty, 2003) have asserted that premarital education programs have a positive effect on program participants. Using meta-analytic methods of current best practices to look across the entire body of published and unpublished evaluation research on premarital education, we found a more complex pattern of…

The efficacy of a computer-based intervention to increase parent-adolescent communication among Latino parents and adolescents was tested in a randomized controlled trial. Parents assigned to receive the 2-session intervention reported greater general communication, sexual communication, and comfort with communication at 3-month follow-up than did…

In recent years, federal, state, and local governments and other funding organizations have increased pressure for greater effectiveness and accountability of prevention programs, including those oriented toward families. This rising demand for program accountability has fueled a growing interest in evidence-based programs. Drawing on what is…

This study investigates father involvement among a sample of ethnically diverse, low-income men participating in a randomized controlled trial of a 14-hour relationship education program that teaches skills and principles for healthy relationships. Utilizing data from 137 fathers, we examined contextual, individual, and coparental relationship…

Ambiguous loss has become a standard theory for understanding the impact of situations where the presence of a family member is subject to ambiguity. A number of studies of ambiguous loss have been made in a range of situations of ambiguity, but almost all have been firmly located within a Western cultural context. Here, ambiguous loss is explored…

When faced with changes in physical health, cognition, and daily functioning, older adults most frequently rely on family members for instrumental support and more intense care activities. Using a life span perspective as our guiding framework, we identified several developmental themes across the late-life caregiving research including individual…