Strong Couples Project: Disseminating Evidence-based Relationship Education

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Relational Problems; Relationships, Marital
• Interventions: Behavioral: ePREP

• Registration Number: NCT05591261
• Lead Sponsor: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Brief Summary

The current research is designed to implement and evaluate the ePREP relationship intervention with couples via the Cooperative Extension system.

Detailed Description

The objective of the research is to evaluate the effectiveness of an online intervention (ePREP) for help-seeking couples designed to promote individual and couple well-being. Newly developed online intervention programs for distressed couples have shown to be efficacious, but their overall reach to the general population remains limited. The current research is designed to implement and evaluate the ePREP relationship intervention with couples throughout the nation in a manner that allows for scalable, sustainable program delivery.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-07-18
• Status Verified: 2022-10
• Study Start: 2022-10
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-10-19
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-10-19
• Study First Posted: 2022-10-24
• Last Update Posted: 2022-10-24
• Primary Completion: 2027-09
• Study Completion: 2027-09

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 500

Inclusion Criteria

• Resident of Illinois
• Married, engaged, or living with their partner for at least 6 months
• Both partners willing to participate in online relationship-focused programming

Exclusion Criteria

• One or both partners reports sever forms of intimate partner violence occurring in the relationship

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
ePREP condition	ePREP	The ePREP program is the online version of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program. It consists of 6 self-directed online sessions and accompanying homework and brief coach calls.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in intervention-targeted behavior	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	PREP 3 keys and Couple Communal Identity (new measures created for this study)
Change in relationship satisfaction	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	Couple satisfaction index
Change in relationship confidence	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	4 item relationship confidence measure (from Stanley et al., 1994)
Change in relationship instability	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	3 item Relationship Instability measure (from Doss et al., 2020, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Change in partner support	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	5 item Partner Support measure (from Doss et al., 2020, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Change in communication conflict	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	4 item communication conflict measure (from Doss et al., 2020, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in exercise	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	1 item exercise (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2016 adaptation)
Change in perceived stress	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	Cohen's 10 item perceived stress measure
Change in partner aggression	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	7 item partner aggression (from Doss et al., 2020, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Change in insomnia	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	7 item insomnia severity index
Change in psychological distress	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	Kessler 6 item psychological distress
Change in anger	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	NIH PROMIS 5 item anger measure
Change in general health	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	Short Form-36 4 item general health perceptions
Change in problematic alcohol use	Baseline, Within one week of program completion (~2 months post-baseline), and 6-month follow-up from baseline	Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) 7 item problematic alcohol use

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Illinois Extension; 🇺🇸 Urbana, Illinois, United States