Possibilities for the prevention of marital discord: A behavioral perspective

The rising incidence of divorce and marital distress has been the subject of national concern for many years. Efforts have been directed at ameliorating the impact of divorce and marital distress on couples and their families through programs such as divorce counseling and marital and family therapy. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the goals of understanding the development of marital distress and developing and evaluating prevention programs for premarital couples. A model of prevention research which stresses the importance of empirically derived interventions is developed and applied to the problem of preventing marital distress. The empirical evidence on the role of communication factors in the development of marital problems is reviewed. The research indicates that communication deficits are associated with the development and maintenance of marital distress. A behavioral premarital intervention program which is based on these findings and the techniques developed by behavioral marital therapists is presented. This program is designed to enhance communication and problem-solving skills, and to improve the couples' future relationship satisfaction and communication patterns. The preliminary short-term results of the intervention program are presented and a few methodological and conceptual issues which need to be considered in evaluating the short-term impact of such programs are discussed.