3 - (SYM 15) Outcomes of a Briefer Version of Family Expectations: A Community-based Relationship Education Program for Expectant Low-income Couples

Having a baby can be a challenging time, often accompanied by declines in relationship quality and parents’ mental health, making support during this time crucial. This is especially true for socio-demographically disadvantaged couples, who may face additional constraints. In support of this endeavor, a large federal multi-site trial, Building Strong Families, evaluated relationship education services delivered in community settings for economically disadvantaged, unmarried expectant couples. The Family Expectations (FE) program in Oklahoma City was the only program to demonstrate positive effects on relationships, including relationship quality at 15 months and stability at 15 and 36 months. Consistent with those results, a subsequent randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in 2015-2020 found FE’s positive impacts on reducing couples’ destructive conflict and depressive symptoms (reported by mothers) and increasing their likelihood of having a stable, low-conflict relationship at 12 months post intake.

In these prior trials, FE was a 12-week, in-person, group-based program that used a 36-hour evidence-based curriculum (Becoming Parent Program), with case management. This project evaluates a revised 8-week version of FE (24 hours of workshops plus case management). Couples (N = 912) expecting a baby or with a baby born in the past 3 months were enrolled. Of these, 35% identified as Black, 31% as non-Hispanic White, 15% as Native American, and 24% as Hispanic. The majority were cohabiting (87%), and a third were married. The 12-month follow-up data collection will be completed by May 2025. Preliminary analyses indicate reductions in destructive conflict and depressive symptoms from baseline to 12 months post-enrollment. Additional analyses will compare this cohort with couples from the 2015-2020 RCT (comparing the 8-week FE program to both the 12-week FE group (N = 698 couples) and the control group (N = 476 couples)) on destructive conflict, depressive symptoms, and their likelihood of being in a stable, low-conflict relationship. These findings will inform our understanding of the effects of the 8-week FE program in promoting partners’ relationship and individual well-being during this critical transition. Additionally, given that the primary goal of funding relationship education programs like FE is to help couples maintain stable relationships that are also free from high levels of destructive conflict and physical aggression, we will also discuss the stable low-conflict index as an important policy-relevant outcome.