Clinical trial NCT03158714: Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative Evaluation Project for Couples
Official title: The Alabama Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Initiative
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Healthy Marriage
Healthy Relationship
Lead sponsor: Auburn University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
name: Department of Health and Human Services
First posted: 2017-05-18
Enrollment: 1858
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 19
Maximum age (years): 100
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The Alabama Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Initiative (AHMREI), a large-scale partnership among Auburn University and 9 additional implementation partners at Family Resource Centers, implements multiple program activities that respond to family needs and integrate comprehensive services to promote healthy marriages and relationships, as authorized by the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-291). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of two selected couples education curricula- Elevate and Couples Connecting Mindfully. The programs are intended to improve the well-being of individuals, couples, and families in domains such as couple well-being, parenting skills, individual skills, and economic stability.

Detailed description: In 2015, Congress provided funding for grants to provide healthy marriage and relationship services to help interested couples enhance or improve adult and family relationships. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), oversees these grants and provides supports to assist grantees in meeting their goals and objectives. To learn about the implementation and effects of these programs, Dr. Francesca Adler-Baeder at Auburn University was awarded a contract to conduct a local impact evaluation study. The evaluation includes impact and process studies for couples education curricula.

Couples who are eligible for the programs and agree to be in the study are randomly assigned to either one of two program groups (Elevate or Couples Connecting Mindfully) or a no-program control group. Program group members are offered program services; control group members are not offered those services. The impact study will examine whether the programs improve outcomes for individuals in couples and the children of the participants in the program group compared to outcomes of those in the control group. Members of both program and control groups are surveyed five times over 2 years: before they are randomly assigned, immediately after the curricula have been implemented (approximately 8 weeks later), and 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after baseline. All surveys are administered via an online survey system, Qualtrics. The survey covers a range of questions related to couple relationships and interactions, individual functioning, parent-child interactions, co-parenting quality, and economic stability. The process aspect of the study will examine multiple aspects of the implementation and operation of the programs. Specifically, program attendance or dose, participant characteristics, facilitator-participant relationship, attitudes towards the program, and mechanisms of change will be considered in the process evaluation. Information for the process evaluation is obtained through the respondents' online surveys and facilitator/educator surveys.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* To be eligible for the AHRMEI Couples Evaluation Project, the applicant must be part of a couple (as defined by the couple) in which both couple members are applying to the program and that: both members of the couple are 19 years of age or older, both members of the couple can attend the majority of the class offerings.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Does not meet the inclusion criteria.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Couple Satisfaction Index
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: The Couple Relationship Skills Inventory
timeFrame: 8 weeks
measure: Individual Mental Health
timeFrame: 6 months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Auburn
country: United States
facility: Auburn University
state: Alabama
city: Brewton
country: United States
facility: Hope Place Family Resource Center
state: Alabama
city: Decatur
country: United States
facility: Parents and Children Together
state: Alabama
city: Gadsden
country: United States
facility: The Family Success Center of Etowah County
state: Alabama
city: Montgomery
country: United States
facility: Family Guidance Center
state: Alabama
city: Sylacauga
country: United States
facility: Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement
state: Alabama
city: Tuscaloosa
country: United States
facility: Tuscaloosa's ONE Place
state: Alabama
city: Valley
country: United States
facility: Circle of Care Center for Families
state: Alabama
city: Vestavia Hills
country: United States
facility: IMPACT Family Counseling
state: Alabama
city: Wetumpka
country: United States
facility: Alabama Cooperative Extension Syestem- Elmore County
state: Alabama
Study officials:
affiliation: Auburn University
name: Francesca Adler-Baeder, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Funk JL, Rogge RD. Testing the ruler with item response theory: increasing precision of measurement for relationship satisfaction with the Couples Satisfaction Index. J Fam Psychol. 2007 Dec;21(4):572-83. doi: 10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.572.
citation: Gandek B, Ware JE, Aaronson NK, Apolone G, Bjorner JB, Brazier JE, Bullinger M, Kaasa S, Leplege A, Prieto L, Sullivan M. Cross-validation of item selection and scoring for the SF-12 Health Survey in nine countries: results from the IQOLA Project. International Quality of Life Assessment. J Clin Epidemiol. 1998 Nov;51(11):1171-8. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(98)00109-7.
citation: Ware J Jr, Kosinski M, Keller SD. A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Med Care. 1996 Mar;34(3):220-33. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199603000-00003.