Investigating the effects of marriage and relationship education on couples' communication skills: a meta-analytic study.

This meta-analysis probes into previous research substantiating the positive effects of marriage and relationship education (MRE) on couples' communication skills. We reviewed 97 MRE research reports that yielded 143 distinct evaluation studies. We found modest evidence that MRE functions both as a universal prevention and as a selective or indicated prevention. That is, MRE demonstrates program effects at longer term follow-ups for well-functioning couples and at postassessment and shorter term follow-ups for more distressed couples. In addition, we found that observational assessments produced larger effects than self-report assessments, although interpreting the meaning of this difference is difficult.