Long Term Effects of Premartial Intervention

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overarching aim of this proposal is to continue a large-scale community based prevention trial of a marriage education program (PREP, Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) delivered in Religious Organizations (ROs) to premarital couples. This program is designed to lower risk factors and raise protective factors for marital distress and associated mental health problems. Given the strong links between marital distress and mental disorders, efforts to prevent mental disorder due to marital conflict has substantial advantages over later and more costly treatment. Targeting ROs as a delivery system is important as ROs already serve as a less stigmatizing resource for prevention and counseling for many people who will not seek services from a mental health professional. This work assesses the value of preventing (vs. treating) mental disorders through maximizing functioning during a critical adulthood transition (i.e., entering marriage). This work proposes to follow an existing sample of 217 couples into a high risk period for distress and divorce (years 5-10 of marriage) in order to assess the long-term/durable preventative effects of premarital intervention on marital distress and symptoms of mental disorders. We will also test and refine our theoretical model of how targeted risk (e.g., negative interactions) and protective factors (e.g., confidence in handling conflicts) are linked over time to marital distress and mental disorder. Benefits include enhancing existing "natural" interventions in the community (premarital counseling) and of reaching a population who might not seek services through the traditional mental health system (e.g., men, minority group members).