The authors present a report of research exploring the effectiveness of the Couples Coping Enhancement Training program on couples with preadolescent children, who are experiencing some amount of stress related to the upbringing of their children; they discuss their research methodology, outcomes, and implications.
This study is a replication reporting on the effects of the Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET). While previous studies have examined the efficacy of this program mainly in distressed couples thus far and without controlling for the presence of children, the current study tries to evaluate the efficacy of the CCET in couples who have preadolescent children and who are experiencing some degree of stress in their daily life associated with the upbringing of their children. Although the CCET does not target specific child-rearing issues, but rather focuses on stress and coping, communication and problem solving in general, it is hypothesized that the program should be able to not only improve partners' communication and dyadic coping skills but also reduce tensions and disagreements that might arise between partners regarding matters related to their children. This study addresses this question based on an evaluation of 100 couples who were randomly assigned either to the CCET or to a control group that received no skills training. The results support previous findings on the efficacy of the CCET in general. Positive effects of the program were noted among both women and men immediately after the training, with stronger effects noted among the women. However, after six months and then one year following participation in the program, the effects faded out. Effects on parental disagreement related to children were weaker than expected. Publisher Abstract Provided