PREP's Research Foundation

"PREP is the very definition of a sophisticated research-based program. Along with colleagues around the United States, Germany, Australia, Holland, and elsewhere, Drs. Markman and Stanley have conducted numerous studies on marital success and distress. Much of the research conducted at the University of Denver has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, which supports the most rigorous and well controlled empirical research in the nation. The word "empirical" means that these researchers didn't just read and discuss theory. Instead, they actually observed and tested real couples over many years. Couples were taught different kinds of PREP skills in various settings and in different ways. Then these couples were compared to similar couples who did not get the PREP education. Couples took various paper and pencil tests and discussed issues while being video-taped. The researchers have analyzed hundreds of hours of these videotapes and used complex coding systems to identify and categorize different aspects of the couples conversations. They have tracked these couples in three different studies, for the longest period of time of any research ever conducted on the prevention of marital distress and divorce. As a result of all this, the researchers have isolated several risk factors that can make a big difference in whether a marriage will be happy or not.

There are a few marriage enrichment programs who are also based on research such as ours. Learning about what makes or breaks a relationship provides important clues as to what we might teach couples in order to help their relationship succeed. However, PREP has taken their research an important step further. PREP moved beyond hoping that their educational program would help couples to actually testing it to see if it truly made a difference.

To summarize, PREP is both empirically informed as well as empirically tested. We try to base the core strategies of PREP solidly on the findings of marital and relationship research the work of researchers from around the world. And, PREP is the most rigorously tested program for the prevention of marital distress ever developed.

Many studies find that couples not only like PREP, but they benefited significantly:

• PREP couples have lower rates of premarital break-up and post marital divorce.
  In a large-scale study in Denver, PREP couples as compared to control couples had 1/3 the likelihood of breaking up, up through 5 years following the program (combining premarital and post-marital break up). In a recent study in Germany, 3% of the PREP couples had divorced at a 5 year follow up while 16% of couples who received traditional PMC (or no PMC) had divorced. However, other studies do not show this same level of difference in break-up rates.
• PREP couples have shown a greater likelihood of maintaining relationship satisfaction for a few years following training, in one major long term study.
• PREP couples have lower levels of negative communication and higher levels of positive communication immediately following the program, and maintain these advantages up to 5 years later. (Based on studies in the U.S., Germany, and Australia)
• PREP couples, in one study, have reported lower levels of physical aggression in the years after taking the program.
• PREP couples enjoy taking the program because of the "hands on" skill oriented nature of the material-with PREP couples reporting greater program satisfaction than couples taking other programs offered to couples.
• Higher risk couples receiving an Australian variation of PREP were happier up to four years following the course than high risk couples receiving an alternate, biblio-therapy program. In this study, low risk couples did as well or even better with the alternative program, though in studies at the University of Denver, to date, low and higher risk couples derived similar benefits from PREP.
• Premarital couples taking PREP given by clergy or lay leaders in their religious organization (as well as when given by university staff) communicate more positively and less negatively following training compared to couples taking more typical premarital training in their religious organizations.

Further, not all of the studies have found such dramatic results. In two out of seven of the major studies on PREP, couples did not seem to gain as much as we would like from the program. There are many important questions that research in the years ahead may answer. For example, with regard to efforts to prevent marital distress and divorce through programs such as PREP:

• Are these efforts effective for all couples?

• Are we able to reach couples that are at higher risks for marital failure?

• Are some forms of preventive education more effective for some types of couples than others? High or low risk couples? First or second marriages?

• Who is in the best position to help couples build better marriages from the start?

We don't pretend to know everything there is to know about marriage. Frankly, we believe the beauty of love is a mystery. But, if two people have committed to love each other for their lifetime, then we believe we can help that couple reach their goal.

Over the past twenty-five years our research has been scrutinized and highly acclaimed. While other research-based programs exist, we know of no competing program that has been or is being tested empirically to the same degree in well controlled, scientific investigations. Further, no program in the world provided to couples has or is being tested in studies with long term follow-ups to the degree which PREP is being tested. In fact, the PREP program was included in the Institute of Medicine report released in January, 1994, Frontiers for Preventive Intervention Research, a report which singled out the most promising, empirically based approaches to prevention currently available in various domains.

The bottom line is this: The PREP program is one you can trust. As one PREP couple said, "No program is perfect, but this one is darned close!" " - prepinc.com