This book should be of interest to scholars, researchers, students, and practitioners alike. Scholars, researchers, and students of personal relationship development will recognize in this book the first serious attempt in over 40 years to do a large-scale, longitudinal study of premarital factors that predict premarital breakup and marital quality; they should also appreciate our attempt to develop a theoretical rationale for predicted paths and to test those paths with the best available statistical tools. Practitioners-while generally not as interested in the intricacies of the statistical results-will find much that is useful to them as they help individuals and couples make decisions about their intimate relationships, their readiness for marriage, and how to increase the probability for marital success. Teachers, family life educators, premarital counselors, and clergy will find helpful our “principles for practice,” particularly as described in Chapter 9, as they teach and counsel couples in any premarital situation. My interest in the development of relationships from premarital to marital probably began when I got married in 1972 and started to notice all of the characteristics my wife and I brought from our respective families and how our “new beginning” as a married couple was in many ways the continuation of our premarital relationship, only more refined and more intense. My professional interest began when I did my doctoral dissertation in 198 1 on premarital predictors of early marital satisfaction (the results of that study are reported in Chapter 8).

From Dr. Jeffry Larson-- the author of the best-selling Should We Stay Together? that was featured on the Today Show-- comes a must-have book for couples in a long-term relationship. All serious couples reach a point where they feel frustrated, stuck, bored, disillusioned, and misunderstood. But now, drawing on over fifty years of research in marital and family relationships, Dr. Larson provides helpful and easy-to-use quizzes, self-tests, and personal assessments that reveal why you're feeling this way, explain the underlying issues, and provide solutions to specific issues and problems. Throughout this practical book, Dr. Larson highlights strengths and weaknesses, and focuses on goals for improvement.

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary overview of evidence-based relationship and marriage education (RME) programs. Readers are introduced to the best practices for designing, implementing, and evaluating effective RME programs to better prepare them to teach clients how to have healthy intimate relationships. Noted contributors from various disciplines examine current programs and best practices, often by the original developers themselves. Readers learn to critically appraise approaches and design and implement effective, evidence-based programs in the future. Examples and discussion questions encourage readers to examine issues and apply what they have learned. The conceptual material in Parts I & II provides critical guidance for practitioners who wish to develop, implement, and evaluate RME programs in various settings. Chapters in Parts III & IV follow a consistent structure so readers can more easily compare programs-- program overview and history, theoretical foundations, needs assessment and target audience, program goals & objectives, curriculum issues, cultural Implications, evidence based research and evaluation, and additional resources. This book reflects what the editor has learned from teaching relationship development and family life education courses over the past decade and includes the key information that students need to become competent professionals. Highlights of the book’s coverage include: Comprehensive summary of effective evidence-based RME training programs in one volume. Prepares readers for professional practice as a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) by highlighting the fundamentals of developing RME programs. Describes the challenges associated with RME program evaluation. The book opens with a historical overview of RME development. It is followed by 20 chapters divided in six parts. The initial four chapters focus on fundamentals of relationship and marriage education --program development, required training, delivery systems, and implementation. The three chapters in Part II consider important conceptual and theoretical frameworks used in RME. Part III considers best practices in inventory based programs while Part IV examines six skills-based programs. The chapters in Parts III and IV consider program overview and history, theoretical foundations, needs assessment and target audience, program goals and objectives, curriculum issues, cultural implications, evidence-based research & evaluation, and additional resources. This content covers four categories of effective programs -- design and content, relevance, delivery and implementation, and assessment and quality assurance. Part V presents evidence-based RME with diverse groups and Part VI reviews future directions. Intended for use in advanced undergraduate or graduate courses in relationship and marriage education, family life education, marriage and relationship counseling/therapy, intimate relationships, relationship development, or home/school/community services taught in human development and family studies, psychology, social work, sociology, religion, and more, this ground-breaking book also serves as a resource for practitioners, therapists, counselors, clergy members, and policy makers interested in evidence based RME programs and those seeking to become Certified Family Life Educators or preparing for a career in RME.

This handbook is written to help busy pastors, missionaries, lay counselors and marriage mentors with a structured course for conducting marriage preparation. Topics addressed: 1) View of Marriage. What expectations does each partner have about marriage? 2) Family of Origin. How does each partner feel about his or her own family background? What traits of their family background does each partner want to or not want to carry into their marriage? 3) Roles. Does the couple have a biblical understanding of their marital roles? 4) Communication. Does each partner feel heard by the other? Does each person feel comfortable sharing feelings with the other? 5) Conflict resolution. Does the couple have the ability to resolve problems without destructive side effects? 6) Parenting. Do both partners want to have children? How will they be taken care of, and by whom? 7) Sex. What are their views of sex before marriage? Who or what are their sources for sex education? 8) Finances. How are money matters to be decided? Have they agreed on a budget?

This volume provides a diverse, eclectic, and paradoxically mature approach to theorizing and demonstrates how the development of theory is crucial to the future of family research.".

Pathways to Marriage is a basic book that explores intimate relationships and marriage prior and in the earlier stages of marriage. By incorporating RELATE, a comprehensive relationship inventory designed by marriage and family professionals, the authors explore the stages in a relationship that take place prior to marriage such as courtship and dating. Psychologists, family therapists, social workers and anyone interested in human relationships.

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