Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-nvqbz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-06T15:14:50.395Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

15 - Relationship Education in Emerging Adulthood: Problems and Prospects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2010

By
Frank D. Fincham ,
Scott M. Stanley  and
Galena K. Rhoades
Edited by
Frank D. Fincham  and
Ming Cui
Frank D. Fincham
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Ming Cui
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Get access

Summary

The literature on emerging adulthood (EA) has focused heavily on basic research, a reflection no doubt of continuing debate about fundamental features of this stage of development (see the special issue of Child Development Perspectives, 2007). Therefore it is not surprising that examination of applied issues relating to romantic relationships in EA has been limited to documenting an association between romantic relationships and psychological adjustment (see Chapter 14) and to showing that the quality of such relationships mediates the link between earlier parent–adolescent relationships and later mental health outcomes (Beyers & Seiffge-Krenke, 2007). The purpose of this chapter is to broaden attention to applied issues in the EA literature by considering how to facilitate what seems to be a prerequisite to entering adulthood: the ability to initiate and sustain an intimate romantic relationship with another person.

WHAT IS RELATIONSHIP EDUCATION AND IS IT NECESSARY?

Historically, relationship education has taken the form of marriage education and has been offered almost exclusively to couples. Such marriage education has its roots in religious institutions, and the precursor to modern programs was Pre-Cana premarital counseling now required of couples wishing to marry within the Catholic Church (Ooms, 2005). Until quite recently, most relationship education occurred in religious contexts, thereby excluding those who do not profess a religious faith or who are uncomfortable in such settings. Nonetheless, a substantial minority of marrying couples (44%) in the 1990s received some type of relationship education before marriage (Stanley, Amato, Johnson, & Markman, 2006).

Type
Chapter
Information
Romantic Relationships in Emerging Adulthood , pp. 293 - 316
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amato, P. R. (2000). Consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1269–1287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antle, B. F., Sar, B. K., Christensen, D. N., Ellers, F. S., Karam, E. A., Barbee, A. P., et al. (in press). The impact of the Within My Reach relationship training on relationship skills and outcomes for low-income individuals. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beyers, W., & Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2007). Are friends and romantic partners the “best medicine”? How the quality of other close relations mediates the impact of changing family relationships on adjustment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31, 559–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bisson, M. A., & Levine, T. R. (2009). Negotiating a friends with benefits relationship. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38(1), 66–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanchard, V. L., Hawkins, A. J., Baldwin, S. A., & Fawcett, E. B. (2009). Investigating the effects of marriage and relationship education on couples' communication skills: A meta-analytic study. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 203–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradbury, T. N., & Karney, B. R. (2004). Understanding and altering the longitudinal course of intimate partnerships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 66, 862.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braithwaite, S., Delevi, R., & Fincham, F. D. (2010). Romantic relationships and the physical and mental health of college students. Personal Relationships, 17, 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braithwaite, S. R., & Fincham, F. D. (2007). ePREP: Computer based prevention of relationship dysfunction, depression and anxiety. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26, 609–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braithwaite, S. R., & Fincham, F. D. (2009). A randomized clinical trial of a computer based preventive intervention: Replication and extension of ePREP. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 32–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buehler, C., Lange, G., & Franck, L. (2007). Adolescents' cognitive and emotional responses to marital hostility. Child Development, 78, 775–789.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carroll, J. S., & Doherty, W. J. (2003). Evaluating the effectiveness of premarital prevention programs: A meta-analytic review of outcome research. Family Relations, 52, 105–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clements, M. L., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2004). Before they said “I do”: Discriminating among marital outcomes over 13 years. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 613–626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creasey, G., Kershaw, K., & Boston, A. (1999). Conflict management with friends and romantic partners: The role of attachment and negative mood regulation expectations. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 28, 523–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daley, E. M., & Noland, V. J. (2001). Intimate partner violence in college students: A crosscultural comparison. International Electronic Journal of Health Education, 4, 35–40.Google Scholar
Desiderato, L. L., & Crawford, H. J. (1995). Risky sexual behavior in college students: Relationship between number of sex partners, disclosure of previous risky behavior, and alcohol use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 55–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doss, B. D., Rhoades, G., Stanley, S., & Markman, H. J. (2009). Marital therapy, retreats, and books: The who, what, when and why of relationship help-seeking. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35, 18–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fincham, F. D., & Beach, S. R. (1999). Marital conflict: Implications for working with couples. Annual Review of Psychology, 50, 47–77.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fincham, F. D., & Beach, S. R. (2010a). Marriage in the new millennium: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family. 72, 630–649.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fincham, F. D., & Beach, S. R. (2010b). Of memes and marriage: Towards a positive relationship science. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 2, 4–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fincham, F. D., Cui, M., Braithwaite, S. R., & Pasley, K. (2008). Attitudes towards intimate partner violence in dating relationships. Psychological Assessment, 20, 260–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fincham, F. D., Stanley, S. M., & Beach, S. R. (2007). Transformative processes in marriage: An analysis of emerging trends. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 275–292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Flay, B. R., Biglan, A., Boruch, R. R., Castro, F. G., Gottfredson, D., Kellam, S., et al. (2005). Standards of evidence: Criteria for efficacy, effectiveness, and dissemination. Prevention Science, 6, 151–175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grello, C. M., Welsh, D. P., & Harper, M. S. (2006). No strings attached: The nature of casual sex in college students. Journal of Sex Research, 43, 255–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halford, W. K., Markman, H. J., & Stanley, S. (2008). Strengthening couples' relationships with education: Social policy and public health perspectives. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 497–505.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halford, W. K., Moore, E. M., Wilson, K. L., Dyer, C., & Farrugia, C. (2004). Benefits of a flexible delivery relationship education: An evaluation of the Couple CARE program. Family Relations, 53, 469–476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halford, W. K., O'Donnell, C., Lizzio, A., & Wilson, K. L. (2006). Do couples at high risk of relationship problems attend premarriage education? Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 160–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halford, W. K., Sanders, M. R., & Behrens, B. C. (2001). Can skills training prevent relationship problems in at-risk couples? Four-year effects of a behavioral relationship education program. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(4), 750–768.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawkins, A. J., Blanchard, V. L., Baldwin, S. A., & Fawcett, E. B. (2008). Does marriage and relationship education work? A meta-analytic study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 723–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, W. (2005). An Asian perspective on relationship and marriage education. Family Process, 44, 161–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
,Institute for American Values. (2004). Can government strengthen marriage?: Evidence from the social sciences. Institute for American Values: New York, NY.
Jakubowski, S. F., Milne, E. P., Brunner, H., & Miller, R. B. (2004). A review of empirically supported marital enrichment programs. Family Relations, 53, 528–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levine, A., & Cureton, A. (1998). When hope and fear collide: A portrait of today's college student. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.Google Scholar
Makepeace, J. M. (1981). Courtship violence among college students. Family Relations, 30, 97–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manning, W. D., & Smock, P. J. (2005). Measuring and modeling cohabitation: New perspectives from qualitative data. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 989–1002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markman, H. J., Stanley, S. M., & Blumberg, S. L. (2001). Fighting for your marriage. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
McLanahan, S., Donahue, E., & Haskins, R. (2005). Introducing the Issue. Future of Children, 15(2), 3–12.Google Scholar
Nielsen, A., Pinsof, W., Rampage, C., Solomon, A. H., & Goldstein, S. (2004). Marriage 101: An integrated academic and experiential undergraduate marriage education course. Family Relations, 53, 485–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ooms, T. (2005). The new kid on the block: What is marriage education and does it work? (Couples and Marriage Policy Brief No. 7). Washington, DC: Center for Law and Social Policy.Google Scholar
Ooms, T. J., & Wilson, P. C. (2004) The challenges of offering couples and marriage education to low income couples. Family Relations, 53, 440–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, J., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Fincham, F. (2010). “Hooking up” among college students: Demographic and psychosocial correlates. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 553–563.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palfrey, J. (2008). Born digital: Understanding the first generation of digital natives. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Paul, E. L., McManus, B., & Hayes, A. (2000). “Hookups”: Characteristics and correlates of college students' spontaneous and anonymous sexual experiences. Journal of Sex Research, 37, 76–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, M. E. (2004). Love U2. Berkeley, CA: Dibble Fund.Google Scholar
Pearson, M., Stanley, S. M., & Rhoades, G. K. (2008). Within My Reach instructor manual. Denver, CO: PREP, Inc.Google Scholar
Prigerson, H. G., Maciejewski, P. K., & Rosenheck, R. A. (2000). Preliminary explorations of the harmful interactive effects of widowhood and marital harmony on health, health service use and health care costs. Gerontologist, 40, 349–357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Proulx, C. M., Helms, H. M., & Buehler, C. (2007). Marital quality and personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 576–593.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Puentes, J., Knox, D., & Zusman, M. E. (2008). Participants in “friends with benefits” relationships. College Student Journal, 42, 176–180.Google Scholar
Ragan, E. P., Einhorn, L. A., Rhoades, G. K., Markman, H. J., & Stanley, S. M. (2009). Relationship education programs: Current trends and future directions. In Bray, J. H. & Stanton, M. (Eds.), Handbook of family psychology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Raley, R. K., & Bumpass, L. (2003). The topography of the divorce plateau: Levels and trends in union stability in the United States after 1980. Demographic Research, 8, 245–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rhoades, G. K., & Stanley, S. M. (2009). Relationship education for individuals: The benefits and challenges of intervening early. In Benson, H. & Callan, S. (Eds.), What works in relationship education: Lessons from academics and service deliverers in the United States and Europe (pp. 45–54). Doha, Qatar: Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development.Google Scholar
Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2009). Working with cohabitation in relationship education and therapy. Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, 8, 95–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schilling, E. A., Baucom, D. H., Burnett, C. K., Allen, E. S., & Ragland, L. (2003). Altering the course of marriage: The effect of PREP communication skills acquisition on couples' risk of becoming maritally distressed. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 41–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, B. A., Thompson, S., Tomaka, J., & Buchanan, A. C. (2005). Development of the Intimate Partner Violence Attitude Scales (IPVAS) with a predominantly Mexican American college sample. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27, 442–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanley, S. M. (2001). Making the case for premarital education. Family Relations, 50, 272–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanley, S. M., Amato, P., Johnson, C. A., & Markman, H. J. (2006). Premarital education, marital quality, and marital stability: Findings from a large, random household survey. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 117–126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stanley, S. M., Markman, H. J., & Jenkins, N. H. (2004). Marriage education using PREP with low income clients. Denver: PREP, Inc.Google Scholar
Stanley, S. M., Markman, H. J., & Whitton, S. (2002). Communication, conflict, and commitment: Insights on the foundations of relationship success from a national survey. Family Process, 41, 659–675.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stanley, S. M., & Rhoades, G. K. (2009). Marriages at risk: Relationship formation and opportunities for relationship education. In Benson, H. & Callan, S. (Eds.), What works in relationship education: Lessons from academics and service deliverers in the United States and Europe (pp. 21–44). Doha, Qatar: Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development.Google Scholar
Stanley, S. M., Rhoades, G. K., & Markman, H. J. (2006). Sliding vs. deciding: Inertia and the premarital cohabitation effect. Family Relations, 55, 499–509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanley, S. M., Rhoades, G. K., Olmos-Gallo, P. A., & Markman, H. J. (2007). Mechanisms of change in a cognitive behavioral couples prevention program: Does being naughty or nice matter? Prevention Science, 8, 227–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Straus, M. A. (2004). Prevalence of violence against dating partners by male and female university students worldwide. Violence Against Women, 10, 790–811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Straus, M. A., & Ramirez, I. L. (2002, July). Gender symmetry in prevalence, severity, and chronicity of physical aggression against dating partners by university students in Mexico and USA. Paper presented at the XV World Meeting of the International Society for Research on Aggression, Montreal.
Stoops, N. (2004). Educational attainment in the United States: 2003. Current Population Reports, P20–P550.
Sullivan, K. T., & Bradbury, T. N. (1997). Are premarital prevention programs reaching couples at risk for marital dysfunction?Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 24–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, A., & Sawhill, I. (2005). For love or money? The impact of family structure on family income. Marriage and Child Well Being, 15, 57–74.Google ScholarPubMed
Thuen, F., & Loerum, K. T. (2005). A public/private partnership in offering relationship education to the Norwegian population. Family Process, 44, 175–186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Acker, L. (2003). Administering romance: Government policies concerning pre-marriage education programs. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 62, 15–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ventura, S. J. (2009). Changing patterns of nonmarital childbearing in the United States. NCHS Data Brief, No. 18. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
Uecker, J. E., & Stokes, C. E. (2008). Early marriage in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 835–846CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
,U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). Dissemination and implementation research in health (PAR 06–071). Washington, DC: Retrieved from http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-06–071.html#PartIIGoogle Scholar
Wilson, K. L., Charker, J., Lizzio, A., Halford, K., & Kimlin, S. (2005). Assessing how much couples work at their relationship: The behavioral self-regulation for effective relationships scale. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 385–393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zweig, J. M., Barber, B. L., & Eccles, J. S. (1997). Sexual coercion and well-being in young adulthood: Comparisons by gender and college status. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 291–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×