In the past decade, the federal government, some states, and numerous communities have initiated programs to help couples form and sustain healthy marriages and relationships in order to increase family stability for children. Thus, the authors value the attention given to this emerging policy area by the "American Psychologist" in a recent…

Using a multistate sample of marriages that took place in the 1990s, this study examined associations between premarital cohabitation history and marital quality in first (N = 437) and second marriages (N = 200) and marital instability in first marriages (intact N = 521, divorced N = 124). For first marriages, cohabiting with the spouse without…

The study of conflict has dominated psychological research on marriage. This article documents its move from center stage, outlining how a broader canvas accommodates a richer picture of marriage. A brief sampling of new constructs such as forgiveness and sacrifice points to an organizing theme of transformative processes in emerging marital…

One hundred couples were followed for 13 years from the premarital period well through the primary risk period for divorce. Results of discriminant analysis indicated that couples who remain satisfied, become distressed, and divorce can be reliably classified on the basis of premarital data. Further, both previously identified demographic risk…

Premarital cohabitation has consistently been found to be associated with increased risk for divorce and marital distress in the United States. Two explanations for this "cohabitation effect" are discussed: selection and experience. We present an empirically based view of how the experience of cohabitation may increase risk for…

Proposes that premarital education efforts can reduce marital distress and divorce. Using a combination of rational argument and empirical findings, four key benefits of premarital education are discussed: (a) it fosters deliberation; (b) it sends the message that marriage matters; (c) it make seeking help an option; and (d) it may lower risk for…

This study is a cluster randomized controlled trial of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP; H. J. Markman, S. M. Stanley, & S. L. Blumberg, 2001). Fifty-seven religious organizations (ROs), consisting of 217 newlywed couples, were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 intervention conditions: PREP delivered by university clinicians…