How Much Is Too Much? Investigating Time and Cost Preferences to Attending Relationship Education

Time constraints and financial cost are two of the top barriers to attending relationship education (RE) programs. More and more families experience demands on their time and other resources, which can make attending RE more difficult. Little is known about general preferences pertaining to time and cost of RE. To more effectively inform planning and implementation of programs and in support of the family and consumer sciences (FCS) principles of building healthy families and communities, this study investigated time, cost, and incentive preferences in a survey sample. Results showed that most prefer to spend less than 3 hours in RE and $40-$50 is the maximum cost preference. Results also showed differences in preferences by gender; previous attendance at such programs also affected the results.