Montefiore Medical Center Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Program

Montefiore Medical Center Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Program

The proposed program will flexibly provide an array of relationship promotion activities incorporating case management and job placement/career advancement activities: marriage and relationship education; pre-marital education and marriage skills; marriage enhancement and marriage skills for married couples; and divorce reduction and relationship skills. In addition, our proposed local evaluation will examine factors that might account for the observed impacts of attending relationship education programs (i.e., higher levels of relationship satisfaction), including dosage of workshops, relationship commitment and longevity, and skill learning.

The objective of the proposed evaluation is to delineate those factors and sub-groups that account for the observed impact of HMRE services on the quality of relationships. Specifically, we are interested in investigating the following factors:

1. Commitment: Are couples that are more committed to each other (measured in terms of marital status, duration of relationship, or relationship commitment scale scores) more motivated to attend a greater number of HMRE workshops? Do they actually learn more relationship skills, and report improvements in their relationship quality?
2. Hopefulness: How does hopefulness about the relationship impact outcomes?
3. Dosage: Is attendance at a greater number of workshops related to improvements in relationship satisfaction and relationship quality?
4. Couple characteristics: How are various demographic factors related to observed outcomes?
5. Skill acquisition: How much did couples actually learn during the course of the relationship workshop?

In order to explore these research questions, we will be conducting an evaluation that utilizes pre-and post-survey data and qualitative interview information from participants. This will be a descriptive study and not a random assignment design. Data collection will begin when couples who expressed interest in the program attend a preliminary interview with one of Montefiore's clinical staff on site. The program and study will be explained to the couple and they will be asked to consent to participate. Once consent is gathered, on-site staff will administer measures required by our funders through an online system called nForm, or Information, Family Outcomes, Reporting, and Management. This online system was developed by Mathematica Policy Research, an agency contracted by the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a Cross-Site evaluation of all grantees who received funding to provide relationship education services. Preliminary demographic information will be collected through surveys completed by participants online through secure web browsing at a Montefiore facility.

Inclusion Criteria:

• In a committed relationship
• 18 years or older
• expecting a child or are caring for a child in the home at least 50% of the time (biological, foster, adopted, kinship care, etc.)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Active intimate partner violence and increased risk of intimate partner violence