IMPLEMENTING A LARGESCALE TEST OF MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP SKILLS EDUCATION: BUILDING STRONG FAMILI

1
IMPLEMENTING A LARGE-SCALE TEST OF MARRIAGE AND
RELATIONSHIP SKILLS EDUCATIONBUILDING STRONG
FAMILIES

• Alan M. Hershey and M. Robin Dion
• National Council on Family Relations
• Annual Conference
• November 5, 2008

2
Overview

• Background Motivation of BSF
• What is the BSF project?
• What is the BSF intervention?
• What have we learned from implementing
  marriage/relationship skills interventions for
  low-income couples?
• How are we measuring the effects of BSF?

3
Why Are We Doing BSF?

• To help unwed parents build stronger
  relationships and fulfill their hopes for
  marriage
• To learn whether BSF programs can build stronger
  families

4
Why Focus on Unwed Parents at the Time of Their
Childs Birth?

• 1/3 of all births are to unmarried women
• Children growing up without their biological,
  married parents are at increased risk for
• Poverty
• Dropping out of school
• Delinquency
• Substance abuse
• Becoming teen parents
• Most unwed couples have romantic, supportive
  relationships and hope to marry

5
Over 80 Are Romantically Involved When Their
Child Is Born
Not Romantic 18
Romantic - Cohabiting 47
Romantic Visiting 35
Source Fragile Families and Child Well-Being
Study, Carlson 2002.
6
Unwed Parents Have High Hopes for Their
Relationship
Source Fragile Families and Child Well-Being
Study, Carlson 2002. .
7
But a Year Later, Few Couples Have Achieved Their
Aspirations
Source Fragile Families and Child Well-Being
Study, Carlson 2002.
8
What is Building Strong Families?

• A demonstration and evaluation of the
  effectiveness of healthy marriage programs for
  unwed parents
• Collaboration with sites to implement local
  programs
• In-depth study of the implementation of programs
• Impact evaluation based on random assignment
• Focus on broad set of outcomes

9
Factors that Could Inform Intervention Design

• Transition to parenthood affects relationships
• Pregnancy is opportunity for intervention
• Significant body of knowledge on correlates of
  successful relationships
• Couples can benefit from interventions
• Special barriers to success in marriage/relationsh
  ips for low-income couples
• Low-income unwed couples have little access to
  relationship/marriage programs

10
A Conceptual Framework for the BSF Intervention

1. Antecedents of Family Formation
2. Program/Policy Interventions
3. Intermediate Outcomes
4. Long-Term Outcomes
Enhanced Child Well-Being and Development Improv
ed Parent Well-Being Reduced Non-Marital
Childbearing Increased Family Self-Sufficiency
Family Demographics Relationship Type and
Quality Multiple Partner Fertility Relationship
Skills, Attitudes, Expectations Employability Ph
ysical and Mental Health Parenting
Skills Cultural Factors Economic Conditions and
Public Policies
Marriage and Relationship Education Services
to Address Other Family Needs
Healthy Marriage Relationship Quality and
Stability Positive Parenting and Parent-Child
Relationships Father Involvement Improved
Family Functioning
11
Critical Intervention Features

• Voluntary participation
• Target population interested unwed expectant
  couples 18 years old
• Curriculum appropriate to the population
  adaptation and supplementation
• Intensive and comprehensive program
• Assessment for domestic violence and other issues

12
Seven Sites, with 12 Locations, Got Involved in
BSF
13
Sites Used Three Approaches to Organize BSF
Services

• Three sites integrated BSF into a home visiting
  program
• Florida, Indiana, Texas
• Two multi-program agencies added BSF to their
  menu of other services for low-income families
• Baltimore, Baton Rouge
• Two sites created BSF from the ground up by
  adding new capacities to existing entities
• Oklahoma, Atlanta

14
The BSF Intervention Model
Marriage and Relationship Skills
Education Group Sessions Male-Female Facilitator
Teams 30-44 Hours
Family Coordinators Encourage Group
Attendance Assess/Link to Other Services
Family Support Services Address Marriage
Barriers Use Existing Resources
15
A Marriage and Relationship Focus Made BSF Unique

• Communication
• Conflict resolution
• Understanding marriage
• Enhancing intimacy
• Managing emotions

Marriage and Relationship Skills Education
16
Marriage and Relationship Skills Curricula Had to
Meet Three Criteria

• Research-based
• Focused on the transition to parenthood
• Appropriate for BSF demographic groups

17
Sites Chose Three Different Curricula
18
Where We are Now in the BSF Project

• Enrollment of evaluation sample completed (but
  programs still enrolling and operating)
• First report on implementation published, second
  in the works
• BSF data collection
• 15-month survey under way and will continue
  through June 2009
• 36-month survey begins October 2008
• Evaluation impact reports Early 2010 and late
  2011

19
Who Signs Up for BSF?
20
BSF Couples Are in Mid-20s, Racially Diverse,
with Multiple Children
Source BSF Baseline Information Form
21
Most Have a High School Degree and Many Fathers
Work
Source BSF Baseline Information Form
22
But Earnings Are Low Even When Combined
Median 18,000
2007 Poverty Threshold for Family of Four
20,650 Source BSF Baseline Information Form
23
BSF Couples Feel Positively About Their
Relationships and About Marriage
Source BSF Baseline Information Form
24
Most Unmarried BSF Couples are in Full-Time
Cohabiting Relationships
Cohabitation Status
Not Cohabiting
Some of the Time
All the Time
Most of the Time
Sources BSF Baseline Information Form
25
Most BSF Couples Expect to Marry
Source BSF Baseline Information Form
26
Marriage Expectations Vary by Confidence in
Partners Faithfulness

• BSF couples expect to marry regardless of
  socioeconomic status, past relationships, and
  general attitudes toward marriage
• but expectations are low for the minority of
  individuals who are not confident that their
  partner will be faithful

27
Many BSF Couples Experience Multiple Partner
Fertility
Members of the Couple Who Have Children By Prior
Partners
Sources BSF Baseline Information Form
28
Most Wanted a Child Together, But Not So Soon
Pregnancy Intentions
23
53
24
Note Intended denotes both wanting the
pregnancy and approving of the timing.
Source BSF Baseline Information Form
29
BSF Couples Have Strengths and Some Unique
Challenges

• Potential Challenges
• Low earnings
• Multiple partner fertility
• Pregnancy timing
• Transition to family role
• Some psychological distress
• Some unease about potential infidelity

• Strengths
• Serious relationships
• Positive feelings about relationship
• Expectations for marriage
• Positive regard for marriage
• Social support, religious attendance

30
How Much Do Couples Attend Core BSF Activities?
31
Most Couples Assigned to the Program Attend Group
Sessions

• Couples were informed about the program before
  consenting to be in the evaluation
• But it remained a challenge to engage couples
• In early sample of BSF couples, 61 eventually
  began attending group sessions
• Fairly typical of voluntary programs, but not
  ideal for testing impacts

32
Couples Who Start Attending Groups Participate
About 21 Hours, on Average

• Most group attendance is by both partners, rather
  than individual parents
• Among early enrollees, those who start group
  average total dosage from 10 to almost 30
  hours
• Less than planned for some sites, but more than
  most marriage education programs

33
Most Get Instruction in Key Curriculum Topics
Percentage of Attending Couples Receiving
Instruction in Major Content Areas
34
No-Shows and Dropouts Reported Scheduling Issues
or Family Illness

• No-shows (who never came to a group) tended to
  report that the timing of group didnt work with
  their schedules, or they got too busy to fit it
  in
• Dropouts (who started but didnt finish full
  curriculum) tended to report a family illness or
  change in work schedule

35
What Do Program Group Couples Think of BSF?
36
Couples Appreciate Facilitators and Bond with
Other Couples

• 145 focus group participants from all sites
• Many reported that prior to BSF they had
  difficulty communicating and managing conflict
• Some were excited about the program and had high
  hopes skeptics relaxed after 2-3 sessions
• Most experiences with group were positive
  enthusiastic about facilitators and other couples

37
Communication and Conflict Management Skills
Cited As Among the Most Helpful

• Focus group participants described learning
  skills in a wide range of areas
• Being more respectful of each other
• Compromising
• Trusting one another
• Expressing feelings constructively
• Preventing harmful fights
• Making decisions together
• Learning their boiling points
• Helping each other heal old traumas

38
Couples Say the Group Sessions Improved their
Relationships

• Many said it helped them to control their anger
  and handle conflict
• Several said they felt closer because they
  learned new things about their partner
• Some said the benefits extended beyond the couple
  relationship to their interactions with children

39
Couples Saw the Link Between their Relationship
and the Child

• Many parents said they learned to avoid arguing
  and fighting in front of their children
• We should be role models for our kids.
• We learned we should work on making the home a
  better place for our children.
• I learned that parents should get along so that
  children can see good parents.

40
Measuring the Impact of BSF on Couples and
Children
41
Impact Analysis Addresses Couple and Family
Outcomes.

• Service Receipt
• Parents Relationship
• Marital/relationship status
• Relationship quality
• Co-parenting
• Relationship with new partner
• Family Outcomes
• Parenting/family involvement
• Family structure
• Family self-sufficiency

42
.and Child Well-Being

• Socio-Emotional Development
• Childs social competence (empathy)
• Presence of externalizing behaviors
• Presence of internalizing behaviors
• Emotional security amid parental conflict
• Cognitive development
• Attachment
• Child Health
• General health status
• Illness in the past month
• Asthma diagnosis and severity

43
Outcomes Measured through Parent Surveys and
Child Assessments

• First follow-up telephone surveys of mothers and
  fathers 15 months after enrollment
• Second follow-up 36 months after birth of child
• Repeat survey of parents
• In-home assessment of child
• Assessments
• Receptive language Peabody Picture Vocabulary
  test
• Self-regulation Walk a Line Slowly
• Parent-child interaction Three Bags Task
• AttachmentToddler Attachment Q-Sort 45

44
Analytical Challenges

• Estimating impacts when the outcome is not
  observed for all couples relationship quality
• Option 1 Constrain analysis to outcomes
  definable for whole sample
• Option 2 Modeling to take account of
  program/control group differences
• Statistical power reduced by participation rate
• Major option Pool sample across similar sites

45
Stay Tuned for More Results

• First report on BSF implementation available at
  www.buildingstrongfamilies.info
• Further report on implementation summer 2009
• 15-month impacts spring 2010
• 36-month-impacts Late 2011