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Characteristics of Studies

Program Type
The reviewers separated the final sample of 39 studies into groups according to the type of program that was evaluated, as defined by the author(s) of each evaluation. According to the study authors' definitions, this review contained 17 evaluations of “therapy” programs, 4 “pre-marital preparation” programs 1, 3 “enrichment” programs, 3 “education” programs, 9 “communication skills” programs, and 3 “counseling” programs. In general, therapy and counseling programs are those that operate in a clinical setting with a trained psychologist administering treatment. These can be based upon a variety of different treatment formats. A recent meta-analytic review of pre-marital programs (Carroll and Doherty, 2003) notes that these programs are generally skills-based training programs designed to help couples gain information that will help them in their upcoming marriage (Senediak, 1990). Enrichment programs are those that are “generally limited to ‘normal and healthy’ couples and families” (Giblin, Sprenkle, & Sheehan, 1985). Education and communications skills programs tend to be didactic in nature and serve both distressed and non-distressed couples. For example, one researcher explains that in the Couple Communication Program, provider teach communication skills to couples in a small group format using brief lectures, directed practice, and assignments between sessions (Wampler, 1990).

Publication Year
Reviewers searched for studies that were published or produced in 1960 or afterwards. Of the 39 studies included for final analysis, 8 studies were published in the 1970s, 17 during the 1980s, 15 in the 1990s, and 2 since 2000.

Location
The reviewers determined the location of the study based either upon the location of the intervention, if mentioned, or the location of the publisher. There were 27 studies from the United States, 8 from Canada, 2 from Germany, 1 from the Netherlands and 1 from Australia. All of these studies were printed in English. Originally, there were other studies printed in either Dutch or German, but reviewers eliminated them after language translation revealed they did not meet the inclusion criteria for other reasons.

Within the United States, if the evaluation mentioned the setting of the actual intervention, then reviewers recorded the state location. If authors did not mention location but the location of a local publisher was available (e.g. University), then reviewers recorded this location. Of the evaluations conducted in the United States, the states that were represented were as follows: Arkansas, California (2), Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan (2), Minnesota (2), New Jersey, New York, North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (3), Texas, Virginia, Washington (3), and Wisconsin. For all other studies, this information was missing.



1 Programs targeting pre-marital couples are referred to as either “pre-marital preparation” or “pre-marital prevention” by the research field. For the purposes of this review, we will refer to programs that target pre-marital couples are “pre-marital preparation” programs. [back]

 

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