Married men and women (N = 1,899 couples) reported readiness to eat a healthier diet, lose weight, and get more exercise (stage of change) and indicated whether they were confident to make these changes (self-efficacy). Husbands' and wives' reports of readiness to change each health behavior were positively associated. Furthermore, women who…

As the newest generation of veterans returns home from the fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq, increased attention is being paid to their postdeployment mental health adjustment as well as the interpersonal sequelae of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions. The Department of Defense has begun to invest in…

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral marriage enrichment program to decrease the level of the dysfunctional attitudes of the couples. Forty participants with dysfunctional attitudes determined by The Dysfunctional Attitude Scale were randomly chosen as experimental and control groups. The results of the…

The goal of this study is to enhance the efficacy of CBT with victims of sexual assault suffering from PTSD by getting the spouse involved. Thus, in addition to attempting to reduce PTSD symptoms, the therapy focuses on improving the support offered by the spouse and favors management of the impact of the traumatic event within the couple. A…

Assigned 43 chronic pain patients to couples group treatment, patient-only group treatment, or waiting-list control. The 16-hour cognitive-behavioral program produced reduction in pain, spouse-observed pain behavior, physical and psychosocial dysfunction, marital satisfaction, and use of health care resources. Spouse involvement did not facilitate…

Explored the relationships among masculinity, femininity, and marital satisfaction, and response to behavioral marital therapy in married couples (N=126). Results indicated that for each sex, both femininity and masculinity are significantly correlated with self-reported marital satisfaction. (LLL)

Investigated whether effectiveness of behavioral marital therapy would be increased by addition of cognitive restructuring and/or emotional expressiveness training for maritally distressed couples. Results from 60 such couples randomly assigned to a variety of treatment combinations revealed that the addition of cognitive restructuring and…

Examined generalization of behavioral marital therapy (BMT) and enhanced behavioral marital therapy (EBMT), which added cognitive restructuring, affection exploration, and generalization training to BMT. Both techniques were effective in decreasing negative communication behaviors and cognitions across settings for couples (n=26), but there was…

This study evaluated the effects of alcohol-focused spouse involvement and behavioral couples therapy (BCT) in group drinking reduction treatment for male problem drinkers. Sixty-four male clients and their female partners were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: treatment for problem drinkers only (PDO), couples alcohol-focused treatment, or…

In a sample of 134 married couples randomly assigned to traditional or integrative behavioral couple therapy (TBCT vs. IBCT), a multivariate hierarchical growth curve analysis using latent variable regression revealed that measures of communication, behavior frequency, and emotional acceptance acted as mechanisms of change. TBCT led to greater…

This report details the assessment and intervention carried out with a couple, "Paula" and "Bob", who both had a moderate learning disability. Paula was referred to the Psychology Service for some work focussing on difficulties in controlling her responses to anger. This report discusses the assessment and offers a formulation from a cognitive…

Compared the relative effectiveness of behavioral marital therapy (BMT) with two of its major components, behavior exchange (BE) and communication/problem-solving training (CPT), in married couples seeking therapy (N=36). Results showed that complete BMT was no more effective than either BE or CPT at posttest. (LLL)

Evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral marital therapy (BMT) in aiding distressed couples (N=30) and explored the relative effectiveness of cotherapists versus single therapist. Results affirmed the overall effectiveness of BMT. A cotherapy team and a single therapist were equally effective. No differences were found between immediate therapy…

Examined couples' response to marital therapy at termination and 4 years posttreatment for 55 couples receiving either behavioral or insight-oriented marital therapy. Couples were more likely to be divorced or maritally distressed four years posttreatment if intake measures reflected high levels of negative marital affect, poor problem-solving…

Investigated effects of behavioral couple therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and their combination on female depression 6 and 12 months after therapy ended. Relapse rates did not discriminate between treatments at any follow-up point. Reductions in husband and wife dysphoria and increases in wife facilitative behavior during therapy predicted…