3 - (SYM 19) Implementing the Ourrelationship Program in a Danish Context: A Randomized Controlled Pilot

High levels of couple conflict and distress can have severe mental health consequences, yet only a small fraction of couples receive relevant relationship-oriented help, such as couple therapy. The web-based OurRelationship program (OurR) was developed to overcome barriers of help-seeking and has demonstrated significant positive effects on relationship and individual functioning in the United States. However, we still know little about whether these findings replicate in independent research and across cultures. This study was a randomized controlled pilot including 90 Danish parenting couples with high levels of conflict and/or couple distress. Prior to a full-scale randomized trial, we tested a) couples’ liking and completion of a translated program version in a clinical setting, b) two different online recruitment channels, and c) an understudied type of control condition (bibliotherapy, BibT) in which couples worked on their own using self-help literature. In one study phase, 38 couples were recruited through paid online campaigns and organic searches (Sample 1). In a subsequent study phase, 52 couples were recruited through social media campaigns (Sample 2). Self-report measures on relationship distress and conflict communication were obtained at pretest, posttest, and 3 months follow-up. Data on program liking and completion were obtained at posttest. Preliminary results indicated that couples from both samples improved on relationship measures in response to both OurR and BibT. However, in Sample 1, the effect sizes were larger for couples in the OurR as compared to couples in BibT. This pattern of results was reversed for couples in Sample 2. In conclusion, this study provides initial evidence for the cross-cultural potential of the OurR and highlights the role of sampling strategy and control conditions when determining program efficacy in new contexts. Presentation will also include additional data on program preference and attrition.