Shifting the Relationship Education Field to Prioritize Youth Relationship Education

Keywords

Couple and Relationship Education (CRE), emerging adulthood, premarital education, prevention approaches

Abstract

The field of couple and relationship education is dominated by a focus on helping committed couples strengthen their relationship. This article reviews several lines of research to argue that the field should give greater priority to youth relationship education—individually oriented relationship literacy education for adolescents and young adults. Serious problems are common in adolescent and young adult romantic relationships and increasing numbers of youth follow paths from adolescence to marriage that make it harder for them to form and sustain a healthy marriage. Early evidence on the effectiveness of individually oriented youth relationship education provides some reason for optimism. The article concludes by exploring implications of this proposed shift in the field for practice and policy.

Original Publication Citation

Hawkins, A. J. (2017). Shifting the relationship education field to prioritize youth relationship education. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2017-07-12

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7060

Publisher

Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Link to Full Text

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