Empirically-Based Couple Interventions on the Web: Serving the Underserved

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Relationship, Marital; Marital Conflict
• Interventions: Behavioral: OurRelationship

• Registration Number: NCT03292692
• Lead Sponsor: University of Miami

Brief Summary

Although several empirically-supported interventions to prevent and treat relationship distress have been developed, the majority of couples - especially high-risk couples - do not seek these face-to-face interventions. However, our pilot data indicate that large numbers of couples will seek self-administered assistance for their relationship. Additionally, unlike many in-person interventions, couples seeking self-help resources tend to have higher levels of relationship distress. Thus, to improve the reach of couple interventions, this project will translate a leading empirically-supported intervention targeting early signs of relationship distress into a Web-based format. This intervention will consist of individualized feedback and professionally-filmed video clips tailored to a couple's specific needs. By intervening effectively with a large number of couples, the resulting Web-based intervention has the potential to have a population-level impact on relationship distress, divorce, and resulting child difficulties.

In the proposed project, building off our previous pilot studies, effective translation of this in-person intervention into a Web-based format will be ensured by conducting two additional intensive pilot studies. Once final changes have been made to the website and Web-based intervention, 300 couples will be randomly assigned to a wait-list control group or an online intervention. All couples will be assessed for the initial two months; intervention couples will be assessed for one year. This project will: 1) demonstrate that couples randomly assigned to the online intervention will report higher levels of individual, child, and relationship functioning than those in the wait-list control group; 2) document the mechanisms of both active conditions; and 3) show that initial gains in those assigned to the intervention are largely maintained through one-year follow-up.

Detailed Description

Not available

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2013-08-13
• Primary Completion: 2014-10-18
• Study Completion: 2014-10-18
• Study First Submitted: 2017-09-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-09-20
• Study First Posted: 2017-09-25
• Results First Submitted: 2017-10-23
• Status Verified: 2018-02
• Results First Submitted QC: 2018-02-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-02-08
• Results First Posted: 2018-02-12
• Last Update Posted: 2018-02-12

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 600

Inclusion Criteria

• Currently in a heterosexual relationship
• Currently married, engaged, or cohabiting for at least 6 months
• At least one partner scoring in distressed range of relationship satisfaction (or both partners > 0.5 SD of population mean of distress).
• Living in the United States
• Both partners ages 21-64 (inclusive)

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Exclusion Criteria

• Severe Intimate Partner Violence in last 3 months
• Moderate to severe suicidal ideation in last 3 months
• Concrete plans to divorce
• Ongoing affair
• Ongoing couple therapy (or refusal to seek couple therapy for 3 months)

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
OurRelationship	OurRelationship	Online Intervention

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Relationship Satisfaction	Pre (0 weeks), Mid (3 weeks), and Post (approximately 6 weeks)	Relationship satisfaction as measured by the total scale on the four-item version of the Couple Satisfaction Index (Funk \& Rogge, 2007; doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.572). Scores on this measure range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Depressive Symptoms	Pre (0 weeks) and Post (approximately 6 weeks)	Depressive symptoms as measured by the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale (Cole, Rabin, Smith, \& Kaufman, 2004). The total score was used, with possible scores ranging from 0-30. Higher scores on this measure indicate greater depressive symptoms.
Relationship Confidence	Pre (0 weeks), Mid (3 weeks), and Post (approximately 6 weeks)	Relationship confidence as measured by 2 items from the Confidence Scale ("I believe we can handle whatever conflicts will arise in the future" and "I feel good about our prospects to make this relationship work"). Scored ranged from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicate more confidence.Cronbach's alpha = .88. These two items have been used in previous studies of couples to assess change (e.g., http://dx.doi .org/10.1177/0192513X08324388).
Anxiety Symptoms	Pre (0 weeks) and Post (approximately 6 weeks)	Anxiety symptoms as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, \& Löwe, 2006). The range of the measure is 0 to 49, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety symptoms. Cronbach's alpha in the present sample was .91.