Symposium 30 - Unraveling the Differential Effects of Couple Relationship Education on Underserved Populations: Leveraging Novel Analytic Approaches

Chair(s)

• YL

  Yunying Le, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

  Research Assistant Professor
  University of Denver
  Littleton, Colorado

Discussant(s)

• BD

  Brian D. Doss, PhD (he/him/his)

  Professor
  University of Miami
  Coral Gables, Florida

Presenter(s)

• DW

  Danielle Weber, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

  Postdoctoral Research Associate
  University of Georgia
  Durham, North Carolina
• HW

  Hannah Williamson, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

  Associate Professor
  The University of Texas at Austin
  Austin, Texas
• YL

  Yunying Le, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

  Research Assistant Professor
  University of Denver
  Littleton, Colorado
• SH

  S. Gabe Hatch, Ph.D. (he/him/his)

  None
  Orem, Utah

Couple relationship education has expanded in numerous important ways in recent years including the populations it serves and how it is delivered (Markman et al., 2022). Specifically, over the past decade, efforts have been made to expand CRE to underserved populations such as low-income couples and couples from racial and ethnic minority groups. To better meet the needs of these couples, CRE has also been modified to be delivered in a variety of ways including in person in a group setting, at home, and via internet. Although evidence suggests that couples can vary greatly before receiving CRE, questions remain about how couples differ before they receive CRE in different settings and whether and how it is associated with differential program effects.

Aligned with this year's theme of "Cultivating Joy with CBT," this symposium will explore how novel analytic approaches can shed light on the differential effects of CRE, which can inform the ongoing refinement of these programs for specific subgroups facing environmental adversity. These intervention refinements will allow us to more effectively and efficiently promote joy and satisfaction in couples’ relationships. 

This symposium includes four talks that leveraged novel analytic approaches, namely person-centered approaches (1^st-3^rd talks) and machine learning (4^th talk), to examine differential effects of CRE delivered to underserved populations. The first presenter will share findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an in-home couple-based preventive intervention (the Protecting Strong African American Families program; ProSAAF) with a sample of rural Black couples (N = 344). Specifically, they will discuss different relationship satisfaction trajectories following ProSAAF and how baseline individual, relational, and contextual risk factors relate to these different experiences over time. The second presenter will present findings from the Parents and Children Together study, a large-scale RCT of a CRE program delivered in a group setting to low-income couples with children (N = 1595 couples). They will share different groups of couples identified based on different levels of baseline relationship satisfaction and commitment before receiving CRE and how their relationship satisfaction differs at 1-year follow-up. The last two presenters will share findings from two independent RCTs of two online relationship programs, OurRelationship and ePREP, delivered to low-income help-seeking couples. The third presenter will discuss unique couple profiles identified based on four baseline relationship characteristics, namely communication, commitment, emotional support, and sexual satisfaction and how these profiles relate to differential satisfaction trajectories during and following the program. The last presenter will discuss how baseline demographic characteristics, individual and relationship stress, and motivation to change predict program completion and improvements in relationship satisfaction using a machine learning approach.

Finally, the discussant, an accomplished scholar with expertise in utilizing digital technologies to enhance couples’ romantic relationships, will discuss clinical and research implications of these findings.