The Prevention of Relationship Distress for Couples at Risk: A Controlled Evaluation with Nine-Month and Two-Year Follow-Ups

A preventive intervention was randomly offered to a group of 67 non- to mildly distressed couples who participated in a larger study on relationships. At the 9-month follow-up, couples in which one partner experienced parental divorce demonstrated a significant increase in problem intensity and a trend toward decreased problem solving ability and relational efficacy, whereas couples from intact families of origin showed the opposite. At the 2-year follow-up, no significant differences were found between the two groups. At both follow-ups, participation in the preventive intervention did not appear to have a protective influence on decline in relationship functioning for persons whose parents divorced and their partners.