Web-based Programs to Improve and Strengthen Romantic Relationships

Web-based Marriage Preparation/Enrichment and Divorce Prevention for Low-Income Couples

This study investigates the effectiveness of www.OurRelationship.com, which provides self-help, web-based programs to improve romantic relationships and related outcomes. Couples will be randomly assigned to complete the OurRelationship program, the PREP Online program, or a wait-list control group and followed for six months.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Romantic Relationship
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: OurRelationship; Behavioral: PREP Online

Detailed Description

Nationwide, lower-income (LI) couples (those with household incomes <200% of the federal poverty level) - many of whom are also African American, Hispanic/Latino, or rural couples - face numerous challenges to their relationships. Chief amongst those challenges are: 1) higher risk of relationship problems and 2) lack of access to effective relationship services to prevent or intervene with relationship distress. Compared to higher-income couples, LI married and cohabiting couples are significantly more likely to divorce or separate and report lower relationship quality. Unfortunately, LI couples are least likely to receive interventions to prevent or solve relationship problems. To overcome these barriers, we propose to test the effectiveness of two effective web-based curricula - OurRelationship and PREP Online.

A total of 750 LI couples will be recruited nationwide and randomly assigned to the PREP Online program, the OurRelationship program, or a wait-list control group and followed for six months. Once randomly assigned to group, couples will be assessed at one month, two months, four months, and six months following randomization. After couples randomized to the wait-list control group finish their waiting period, they will be able to select the program they would like to complete (OurRelationship or ePREP) but will not complete research assessments during or following their participation in the program. Interested couples can find out more information (and sign up for the study) at www.OurRelationship.com

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 1484
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Coral Gables, Florida, United States, 33124
      • University of Miami

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 64 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. They are married, engaged, or have been cohabiting with their partner for at least six months
2. They are both located in the United States
3. Both partners are willing to participate in the study
4. Both partners are between the ages of 18 and 64 (inclusive)
5. Both partners are fluent readers of the English language (as the program materials are currently only available in English).
6. Couples report a household income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Severe domestic violence
2. Inadequate internet connection
3. Previous participation in OR, PREP-O, in-person PREP, or its variants
4. Current participation in other relationship programs
5. Current participation in an evaluation funded by Administration for Children and Families

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Waitlist; Participants are assessed start, during, and end wait list; however, no active intervention is given.
Experimental: OurRelationship; The OurRelationship program is based on Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy and encourages couples to select, understand, and solve a relationship problem. Partners complete the majority of the web-based program on their own and come together for three key conversations with their partner. The first conversation between partners centers on discussing possible core relationship issues and jointly deciding on the problem(s) to focus on during the program. During the second conversation, both partners' previous written responses are displayed on the screen and conversation is encouraged. During the final conversation, couples share their strategies to decrease stress, improve patterns of communication, and engage in problem-solving exercises specific to their core issue(s).	Behavioral: OurRelationship; Other Names: Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy
Experimental: PREP Online; The PREP Online program is based on the in-person Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program. The PREP Online program consists of seven sections of material. In each section, new information and skills are presented, videos demonstrate real couples practicing the skills, participants are encouraged to discuss the information in the context of their own relationship, and a multiple choice quiz reiterates and summarizes the section. In addition to the core educational materials, couples are asked to complete six additional online and offline homework assignments (one per week), each lasting approximately one hour.	Behavioral: PREP Online; Other Names: Prevention and Relationship Enhancement

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Relationship Satisfaction	Four-item Couple Satisfaction Index (CSI) self-report measure	Baseline and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Relationship Knowledge	Six-item, self-report measure of relationship knowledge	Baseline and 6 months
Change in Communication Skills	Seven-item, self-report measure of communication skills	Baseline and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Miami
• Collaborators: Children's Bureau - Administration for Children and Families
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Brian Doss, PhD, University of Miami

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Doss BD, Knopp K, Roddy MK, Rothman K, Hatch SG, Rhoades GK. Online programs improve relationship functioning for distressed low-income couples: Results from a nationwide randomized controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2020 Apr;88(4):283-294. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000479.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 15, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 16, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 17, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): June 20, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 8, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 5, 2019
• Last Verified: January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Internet; Marriage; Web-based; Relationship Distress; Relationship Satisfaction
• Other Study ID Numbers: 20160451

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified data will be provided to Administration for Children and Families to facilitate secondary data analyses.