title: The alliance in relationship education programs.
abstract: Couple relationship education (CRE) programs are associated with positive romantic relationship outcomes; however, the mechanisms by which these gains occur are less understood. The current study (122 couples) utilized actor-partner modeling to examine the association between the therapeutic alliance and dedication and negative and positive communication for racial/ethnic minority couples. Additionally, we examined whether gender and delivery format moderated these relationships. Results demonstrated that both men's and women's alliance scores were significantly related to their own outcomes. Higher ratings of alliance were related to partner outcomes for men only. The association between partners' alliance and dedication outcomes was stronger within the group format as compared to the couple format. Implications for leaders of CRE programs are offered.
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville, College of Human Development and Education.
authors.forename: Kelley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Quirk
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.forename: Leslie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Inch
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: France
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bergen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019546:Couples Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult