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Is Marriage Education Effective? A Meta-Analytic Review of Marriage Education Programs
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| Title | Is Marriage Education Effective? A Meta-Analytic Review of Marriage Education Programs |
| Document Type | Dissertation |
| Keywords | marriage, marriage education, meta-analysis, program evaluation |
| Abstract | In the past few decades, several meta-analytic studies have attempted to answer the question: Is marriage education effective (Carroll & Doherty, 2003; Halford, Markman, Kline & Stanley, 2003; Reardon-Anderson, Stagner, Macomber, & Murray, 2004)? However, previous meta-analytic studies have been somewhat limited in their conclusions because they have reviewed a narrow portion of the marriage education spectrum (e.g. premarital education only, Carroll & Doherty, 2003), because they focused only on one particular program (e.g, Couples Communication, Butler & Wampler, 1999), because they failed to differentiate marital therapy from marital education programs (Reardon-Anderson et al., 2005), or because they excluded much of the mainstream of marriage education due to methodological restrictions (e.g, random assignment studies only, Reardon-Anderson et al., 2005). The current meta-analysis is uniquely qualified to better answer whether marriage education is effective. It examines the full range of marital education from marriage preparation to early marriage and across the marital life span. It excludes studies that evaluate therapy programs and interventions, thus providing a more focused test of marriage education rather than a broader test of marriage intervention. It also allows for analysis of programs more representative of the mainstream of marriage education as it is currently practiced. Finally, this work employed more rigorous statistical techniques than had been done with previous meta-analyses. Sixty-nine marriage education evaluation reports were included in this meta analysis; fifteen additional articles were not code-able, but were analyzed conceptually. Articles were coded by design and results are reported according to study design. Quantitative results showed that across methodology, sample and program type, marriage education has moderate positive effects on marital satisfaction/quality and communication. These effects remain at follow-up evaluations. Effects were strongest for couples married longer than five years and for communication-training programs. Subgroups of studies generally were too small to examine many moderator variables. In addition, study samples were predominately White, well-educated, middle-class couples. Although this meta analysis provides the strongest answer to date on the effectiveness of marriage education, increased exploration and evaluation of moderator variables are needed before we will know which types of interventions are most effective for which couples. |
| Author | Fawcett, Elizabeth Brinton 1978- |
| Department | Marriage, Family, and Human Development |
| Date Submitted | 2007-01-05 |
| Format | application:pdf |
| URL | http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd1681.pdf |
| Language | english |
| Copyright Statement | I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, and specifically allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Brigham Young University and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation, or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
| Display Title | Is Marriage Education Effective? A Meta-Analytic Review of Marriage Education Programs |
| Defense Date | 2006-08-02 |
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