Abstract

Relationship education programs (REPs) have substantial bodies of evidence that support their efficacy as community-based relationship education interventions for many couples, including racial/ethnic minority (REM) couples and couples from low-income households. While many studies support the efficacy of REPs, less is known about the characteristics of couples who experience worse relationship functioning after these interventions. Accordingly, we examined whether pre-intervention relationship factors would be associated with couples who reported worse relational commitment post-intervention. A total of 1,710 individuals (N = 855 couples) from a large, low-income, urban center participated in REPs. The sample was predominantly African American/Black (58.1%) and Hispanic/Latinx (40.6%), including 16 same-sex couples. Across all outcome variables (dedication, constraint, and separation), the participants receiving the intervention in a group format were more likely to report worse relationship functioning after the intervention. Negative communication was found to be more predictive than positive communication, and higher baseline respect counter-intuitively predicted greater odds of deterioration, especially for female partners. This study calls attention to why couples may experience worsening of commitment after REPs, and ultimately, may help predict which low-income, REM couples may benefit from relationship education, as well as how programs can be better culturally tailored to meet their needs.

摘要

关系教育计划 (REP) 有大量证据支持其作为基于社区的关系教育干预措施对许多夫妇的有效性，包括种族/少数民族 (REM) 夫妇和来自低收入家庭的夫妇。虽然许多研究支持 REP 的功效，但对在这些干预后关系功能更差的夫妇的特征知之甚少。因此，我们研究了干预前的关系因素是否与干预后报告的关系承诺较差的夫妻有关。共 1,710 人（N = 855 对夫妇）来自一个大型的低收入城市中心参与了 REP。样本主要是非裔美国人/黑人 (58.1%) 和西班牙裔/拉丁裔 (40.6%)，包括 16 对同性伴侣。在所有结果变量（奉献、约束和分离）中，以小组形式接受干预的参与者更有可能在干预后报告更糟糕的关系功能。发现消极交流比积极交流更具预测性，更高的基线尊重违反直觉地预测了更大的恶化几率，尤其是对于女性伴侣。这项研究提请注意为什么夫妻在 REP 后可能会经历承诺的恶化，并最终可能有助于预测哪些低收入的 REM 夫妻可能会从关系教育中受益，