The couples coping enhancement training: Subjective appraisals of changes within six months

The Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET) represents a novel preventiv e approach for couples focusing on the enhancement of relevant skills which predict a better course of the relationship and a lower risk for divorce. Marital and stress research have shown that particularly four competencies act as important resources: (a) communication skills, (b) problem-solving c apacities, (c) adequate individual stress management, and (d) dyadic coping competencies. Thus, these findings suggest to teach couples such competenc ies at a relatively early stage in their relationship. Whereas several preventive trainings for couples focusing on marital commun ication already exist, the CCET is new in that it primarily focuses on the coping skills of couples. The rationale of our approach is to strengthen ma rriage by better managing everyday stress. As several studies reveal, stres s is an important negative factor for close relationships and gradually des troys marriage over time. The effectiveness of the CCET is evaluated in this article in regard to the subjective appraisals of changes of (a) the relevant skills and (b) the ma rriage in general within six months. The results reveal that couples who pa rticipated in the CCET report a significant better improvement of their rel ationship, whereas the couples of the control group do not. Thus, the effec tiveness of this new preventive training could be established within six mo nths.