What’s Love Got To Do With It? The Role of Healthy Couple Relationships and Marriages In Promoting Child, Family, and Community Well-Being

Keywords

marriage education, relationship education, Extension, family life education, benefits, costs, program implementation, child, family, community, well-being

Abstract

There is an increasing focus on healthy couple relationships and marriages in family life education and Cooperative Extension programs. The research clearly indicates the ways in which healthy couple/marital functioning benefits individuals, children, and communities. Conversely, unhealthy couple relationships and marriages are clearly linked, both directly and indirectly, to adverse individual, family, and community outcomes. These effects underscore the importance of including relationship and marriage education in family life education programs. Other research using representative samples documents expressed community need and interest in marriage education. With both the demand and the need for relationship and marriage education, consideration should be given to providing effective programming that is both research-informed as well as research-validated. In addition, contextual factors, such as community demographics, public opinion, and administrative support are considerations for implementation design.

Original Publication Citation

Adler-Baeder, F., Shirer, K., & Bradford, A.B. (2007). What’s love got to do with it? The role of healthy couple relationships and marriages in promoting child, family, and community well-being. The Forum for Family and Consumer Issues, 12 (1).

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2007

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5442

Publisher

The Forum for Family and Consumer Issues

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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