LONG TERM EFFECTS OF PREMARITAL INTERVENTION

正在寻求资金进行一项为期四年的纵向研究， 一项旨在教授 婚前伴侣处理冲突的技巧。 在早期的融资中 我们开发和评估了一个理论驱动的，基于实践的 冲突管理技能培训方案（预防和 关系增强计划，准备），已成功地在一个 小型对照干预试验的数量。 该提案旨在 我们预防研究计划的下一阶段 主要目的是 建议进行更大规模的预防试验， 代表我们计划最终目标的人口（夫妇 在美国结婚）在现有的服务提供系统 （宗教组织）。 75%的初婚 在宗教组织中，大多数已经致力于 提供某种形式的婚前干预 因此，第二个目标是 这个项目是为了评估我们能在多大程度上训练神职人员或普通人 领导人在宗教环境中提供PREP计划-设置 在那里大多数结婚的夫妇已经接受了一些服务。 通过“培训 我们利用“乘数效应”传播 的计划。 在某种程度上，我们可以将一个成功的 离婚和痛苦预防计划在社区，我们可以有 对破坏性婚姻冲突的高发生率产生重大影响， 离婚和相关的心理健康问题。 为了实现这些目标，我们将随机选择180个宗教 组织（RO）从一个更大的合格的RO组，并随机 将RO分配到以下四种情况之一：1）由受过培训的 神职人员/非神职人员领导人，2）由丹佛大学提供的PREP， 团队，3）控制注意力的基于信息的程序-安慰剂 （4）自然发生的婚前干预服务。 结果测量将扩展到婚姻的典型测量之外。 质量，包括心理健康结果，我们将评估 每年的助推器会议可以加强预防性的维护 影响随着时间的推移。

Funding is sought for a four year longitudinal study to conduct a large scale community-based prevention trial of a program designed to teach premarital couples skills for handling conflict. In earlier funding periods we developed and evaluated a theory driven, empirically-based conflict-management skill-training program (The Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program, PREP) that has been successful in a number of small controlled intervention trials. This proposal moves to the next stage of our prevention research program. The major aim of this proposal is to conduct larger prevention trials with a clearly defined population that represents the ultimate targets for our program (couples getting married in the US) in an existing service delivery system (Religious Organizations). Seventy-five percent of first marriages occur in Religious Organizations most of which are already committed to providing some form of premarital intervention. Thus, a second aim of this project is to evaluate the extent to which we can train clergy or lay leaders to deliver the PREP program in religious settings - - settings where most couples who marry already receive some services. By "training trainers" we take advantage of an "multiplier effect" in the dissemination of the program. To the extent we can institutionalize a successful program for divorce and distress prevention in the community, we can have a major impact on the high rates of destructive marital conflict and divorce and associated mental health problems. To accomplish these aims we will randomly select 180 Religious Organizations (RO) from a larger group of eligible RO's, and randomly assign ROs to one of four conditions: 1) PREP delivered by trained clergy/lay leaders, 2) PREP delivered by our University of Denver based team, 3) An information-based program that controls for attention-placebo factors, and 4) Naturally occurring premarital intervention services. Outcome measures will be expanded beyond typical measures of marital quality, to include mental health outcomes and we will assess the extent to which yearly booster sessions can enhance the maintenance of preventive effects over time.