Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program

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Intervention Description Regarding military marriage and divorce, the most commonly applied intervention is the Prevention & Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP). (Markman, Rienks, & Stanley, 2009) This intervention was developed in 1980, primarily as a premarital intervention program, to focus on relationship functioning enhancement and divorce prevention. (Markman et al., 2009) Because research at the time indicated that relationship success was hinged primarily on the method of conflict resolution rather than the conflict topic, the intervention was designed to focus on enhancing communication and conflict resolution skills. (Markman et al., 2009) “In addition to being based on available research on marital success, PREP built on the work of Sherod Miller and associates' Couples Communication Program, Bernard Guerney's Relationship Enhancement Program, as well as Virginia Satir's and Salvador Minuchin's versions of family system theory.” (Markman et al., 2009) PREP was initally executed beyond research context in 1991 when it was implemented by Department of the Navy chaplains and social workers. (Markman et al., 2009) Consequently, the Department of the Army followed suit implementing PREP in 1995. (Markman et al., 2009) As a result of its success, PREP was additionally adopted by many other agencies, organizations, state and federal offices, and youth programs throughout the country. (Markman et al., 2009) Though PREP has seen much success, the initial inferences were based on white middle-class American’s who were already experiencing contentment with their marriages/relationships; and needed further research to evaluate effectiveness for lower income and minority couples. (Markman et al., 2009) As such, the PR... ... middle of paper ... ...nks, S., & Stanley, S. (2009). Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Programs (PREP). In H. T. Reis, & S. Sprecher, Encyclopedia of human relationships (pp. 1291-1293). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc. Paiz, J. M., Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., . . . Keck, R. (2013, March 01). General Format. Retrieved from Purdue Online Writing Lab: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Renick, M. J., Blumberg, S. L., & Markman, H. J. (1992). The Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP): An empirically based preventive intervention program for couples. Family Relations, 41(2), 141-147. Stanley, S. M., Allen, E. S., Markman, H. J., Rhoades, G. K., & Prentice, D. L. (2010). Decreasing divorce in army couples: Results from a randomized controlled trial using PREP for Strong Bonds. J Couple Relatsh Ther, 9(2), 149–160.

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