Prevention of marital distress by enhancing the coping skills of couples: 1-year follow-up-study

This article presents a new preventive approach (Couples Coping Enhancement Training CCET) aimed at expanding upon the scope of current prevention pro grams by focussing on stress issues and individual and dyadic coping skills . The cognitive behavioral prevention program is based on stress and coping research in couples and seek to improve important skills with an 18-hour c ourse. The effectiveness of the approach is examined with respect to 143 co uples over a period of one year. The results show that couples participatin g in the program benefit in terms of a significant increase in martial qual ity and that intervention couples appraise their relationship even after on e year as substantially improved in a number of domains (quality of martial communication, intimacy etc). Our results support the importance of preven tion for couples with low marital satisfaction even if they have been livin g together for many years.